Nightblade Gaiden
by KnightEstoc
Summary: Life is a series of decisions and choices, and there's no changing the past. But what if we could look through the mirror, where different choices were made?
1. Route: Asuna - Part 1

**Oh, I guess spoilers for Nightblade I, II, and III? Yeah.**

* * *

 **Route: Asuna – Part 1**

 **December 24th, 2023**

I stared at Asuna.

She didn't meet my eyes, looking away and fidgeting constantly. First she tugged at her hair, then she straightened her KoB uniform skirt, only to shift her weight and mess it up again.

"Could you..." I asked slowly, licking my lips and swallowing hesitantly. My throat was dry. "Could you r-repeat that please?" Why was I scared? Why was I hesitating? I'd decided a long time ago that I couldn't let myself be scared ever again; that if it was necessary I'd do it, and if not I wouldn't bother. I shouldn't be feeling this terrifying ache in my chest like I was about to walk off a cliff.

"I..." Asuna said. "I was wondering... those rumors about us being, y'know... together..." The rumors, of course, were the type of rumors that sprang up whenever two young people of the opposite gender so much as said hello to each other. Was it a wonder I hated gamers?

"What about the rumors?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound calm. I'm pretty sure it just sounded distant.

For the first time since she dropped the bomb on me, Asuna looked at me. She still avoided direct eye contact, but she was looking at me. "I was wondering if maybe they could be true?" she said in a rush.

My jaw worked in silence as words and phrases flashed through my head too quickly for me to be able to make sense of any of them.

I was intelligent, I knew that. A lot of my skill came from essentially endless repetition, but I had talent at picking out patterns and coming up with plans. Anything with math or science would practically solve themselves in my head, and my memory was pretty damn good when it came to the important stuff.

And for the life of me I had absolutely no clue how to respond to this situation. All those books I'd read, none of them had prepared me for sitting on that bench right before Christmas Eve turned to Christmas Day.

I started to reach out for Asuna, but she took the decision away from me and leaned against me. She'd done this before, and my arm wrapped around her, pulling her tight without my input. Traitor arm. "Asuna..." I said, slowly and hesitantly. She clung to my arm. Her fingers were cold. Amazing, the things the mind latches on to when adrift. "I... had no idea you felt this way... How long?"

"For a few months," she admitted quietly, looking up at me before looking out at the city. I knew we were the same height, but somehow she seemed so vulnerable and tiny, at that moment.

"Why? Why me?" I asked desperately. "I just - just - there are so many people you could choose, and I don't understand why you'd be interested in me." There were just so many reasons she was making a mistake, but my traitor mouth wouldn't say any of them. Or, rather, it was trying to say all of them, maybe?

"Don't say that," Asuna protested. "There's plenty of reasons for me like you. You're strong, smart, dependable..." She smiled; I couldn't see it, but the way her voice changed I guessed it was a soft smile. "You put up a tough front, but I can see through it to who you are underneath. You really are...someone special..."

I couldn't help it, I snorted. Special? I suppose that's a way to describe me. "I knew you were after me for my looks." Mouth, no. Mouth, sarcasm is not the appropriate response to this right now. Stop this.

"You know what I mean," Asuna told me before sighing and leaning into my body more. "I think above all... You're safe. I won't lose you."

"Lose me?"

"To this game," Asuna whispered. "To Aincrad. When I go to sleep, I know I'll be able to wake up and you'll still be there."

My tongue flicked over my lips again as I stared off into the distance. "I see..."

"Why not?" Asuna asked suddenly, and I made the mistake of looking at her. She was finally meeting my gaze, and her hazel eyes locked onto mine like a snake paralyzing a mouse. I couldn't tear my eyes away as she searched them, tearing away at the distance I put between myself and everyone else. "Why don't you think I could like you? We get along, don't we?" Something in her eyes glistened, and I realized she really meant it - she really did care about me. "You have fun when we're together, right? Why you play music for me, or we eat meals together, you're having fun... right?"

Trapped by her gaze and the fear in her voice, I had no choice but to be honest. "...I am. I'm enjoying myself when I'm with you." I _couldn't_ let myself say yes to her request, but I felt like I was only a step away from falling into the gorge I was trying to avoid. And damn it, I couldn't tell which way to go.

"Then why aren't you saying yes?" she cried. "What's wrong? Is it me?" I froze. Asuna must have sensed I was off-balance, because she didn't let me get my mental feet under me. "Rythin, please, tell me what's wrong. You can trust me."

"Can I?" My voice was quiet and hesitant as I tried to divorce myself from the situation, and her eyes widened. I'd tried so hard to keep distance between me and Asuna so I didn't hurt her, but her simple, four word statement had closed it in an instant. "Can I really trust you, Asuna?" My breathing was erratic, and if we were in the real world my heartbeat would be thundering in my ears. All I had to do was reach out, but... I was terrified...

"Of course you can, Rythin."

I sucked in a breath as I felt something inside me give up, like something finally crumbled under a heavy weight. "I'm scared, Asuna," I said. "That's what's wrong."

Asuna frowned slightly. Even so, it didn't diminish her beauty at all. "Scared? Of what?"

I sighed and let myself stare off into the distance. "I'm scared of losing you," I heard my voice say in a flat affect. "Of being forced to be alone again, and of the people I've come to care about leaving me."

Staying in that absent half-present state, I started telling her about my past; how every friend I had made had left me sooner or later, and how I started closing myself off from needing anyone else in order to not be hurt. I knew it was strange, for me to open up like this - especially since Aincrad was a world where a moment of weakness could spell death - but Asuna's simple reassurance had broken some kind of dam in me. Everything that I'd been holding back spilled out of me, and I didn't have a prayer of stopping it.

When I stopped talking, coming back to myself fully, I realized a few tears were dripping down my cheek. "I didn't know..." Asuna said as I wiped at the tears. "All this time, I didn't know..."

"It's fine, Asuna," I said with a watery chuckle. "I did my best to keep it all hidden from everyone."

"Because you wanted to be strong?" I couldn't find the words to respond to her question. "Rythin, strength isn't being able to do things alone," she smiled at me. "It's being able to admit when you need someone's help."

I sighed; she didn't understand why I did what I did, why I needed that kind of strength. "Maybe, Asuna." We sat in silence for a while, sharing each other's company in the cold as the snow continued to drift down. It wasn't the companionable silence it had been before; there was almost a strange tension in the air, and I realized I still hadn't answered her question. "There's...one other reason I..." I didn't want to say 'can't get into a relationship', because it wasn't like that, but I had no idea what else to say. Being tongue-tied was rare for me. Asuna didn't say anything, somehow sensing that I needed to work my way up to it myself, and I sighed eventually. "I..." I shifted my weight nervously. I'd never told this to anyone else, so I had no idea how she was going to react. "I identify as asexual." I had to get it all out in a rush, before she left in disgust. "I don't feel sexual attraction to anyone or anything. Physically, everything works as it should," - Asuna flushed slightly at my frank admission - "but...mentally, there's just no drive."

"So that's why..." Asuna murmured.

My lips twisted into a grim mockery of a smile. "Yes. That's why. It's why you and I can't -"

Asuna interrupted me with a smile. "You say that like it matters."

My thoughts ground to a halt. "What." What was she saying? I was a freak, a distortion of nature. I was _wrong_ in a way that was conceptually foreign to almost everybody else in the world. "Asuna, what..."

"It's okay, Rythin." Asuna leaned against me, and strangely enough I didn't mind. "I like you for who you are. If that means you're different like that, well, that's just part of who you are." I couldn't say anything, my mind still frozen, and all I could do was hug the girl sitting beside me. "I won't leave, Rythin," she murmured. "No matter what, I'll stay by your side."

I flinched when she said that. It _always_ happened, no matter what I did. She couldn't change that fact any more than she could hurt me in a Safe Zone, or defy gravity.

"I won't leave," she promised again.

I closed my eyes. I was an idiot for doing this... "Thank you," I whispered, my words barely loud enough for me to hear.

We sat there in the night, enjoying each other's company; Asuna felt comfortable in the crook of my arm, snuggled up to my side. Her warmth kept the cold at bay, and even though snow was falling I was more fascinated by the woman by my side. As I was resting my cheek on her head, listening to her breathe, a notification flashed up in the corner of my vision. When I moved to look at it, Asuna made a small noise of confusion. "Message," I told her. When I opened it, I realized the sender was Kirito. "It's from Kirito," I said in almost awe, sitting up straight and staring at the message. I scanned the contents of the message and slumped back against the bench, half leaning against Asuna as a palpable rush of relief hit me. "He's okay. He fought the boss and won. He apologized for causing me worry."

Asuna sighed and smiled, leaning back against my side. "He's okay. Thank goodness."

"Yeah." I leaned my head against hers again, just sitting there and breathing as I felt warm for the first time in a long while.

* * *

 **January 12** **th** **, 2024**

I stood silently as I stared at the man in front of me. It was incredibly petty, but as that was my specialty, I was going to stand there stubbornly until he spoke first.

By the wry twist of his lips, I think Heathcliff knew exactly what I was doing. "How strange, Rythin," he mused. "With what you said back when I first approached you, I expected you to remain strictly a solo player. And yet here you are, requesting a position in the Knights of the Blood."

I gritted my teeth and tried desperately not to let the irritation on my face show. "The situation has changed."

"Has it, now?"

Gods this is the worst. If I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't, but since I have to, I might as well do it right. "Yes, it has. As a result, I can no longer operate as a consultant for the boss fights. You offered me a position once, and with my recommendation -"

"Ah, yes," Heathcliff interrupted me. "My sub-commander _did_ have quite a bit to say when I discussed this matter with her."

I bet she did. I'm just glad she's waiting for me outside the meeting room, because I will need serious levels of Asuna hugs to balance out the frustration I'm dealing with right now.

"She vouched for your skills in combat, as well as your aptitude for planning," Heathcliff continued. "And suggested that you would make a good addition to the guild." He swiped open his menu and tapped a few buttons. "I happen to agree with her. Rythin, I welcome you to the Knights of the Blood."

I looked at the prompt in front of me, took a deep breath, and accepted the guild invitation without a second of hesitation. When something was inevitable, I just had to do it, no questions asked. Besides, this was a small price to pay for Asuna.

A small symbol appeared in the top left of my vision, a white square with a red cross in the center. A guild symbol - _my_ guild symbol.

"Sir," I said as Asuna entered the room and stood by my side patiently, "there is a question I want to ask."

"Yes, Rythin?"

I blinked placidly. "I understand that you are now technically my superior, but I ask that I take my orders only from Asuna." My lips twitched in a smirk. "I realize the two are functionally identical, but emotionally there is a great difference between the two to me."

"Rythin, what-" Asuna began.

I glanced her way and smiled slightly before looking back to Heathcliff. "I trust Asuna," I told him bluntly, "not you. In time that may change, but at the moment I would prefer to take my orders solely from her."

He nodded once. "Certainly not an... unreasonable request, given your situation. I accept." His lips twitched in a small, almost unnoticeable smile. "This would normally be the part where you undergo a trial, a way to gauge your strength, but given your, ah, accomplishments I believe we can dispense with that formality."

I nodded. "Thank you."

Heathcliff smiled, but it felt wrong somehow. Like it didn't reach his eyes. "Welcome to Knights of the Blood, Rythin."

"I look forward to working with you." Wow, I said that big a lie without blinking. Go me.

I think he could tell anyway. "Asuna, would you get our newest recruit a temporary uniform until something suitably unique can be designed?"

Oh no. I was there when she received _her_ uniform, and I remember the story of how that happened. "Oh, and, uh, is there a way we can waive the dress code for me? I'm a fan of my current color scheme, you see…" I said hurriedly.

Asuna took my hand. I winced. "Let's go, Rythin," she said sweetly, and I knew that I wasn't getting away.

* * *

 **March 6** **th** **, 2024**

I'm not really sure _what_ I expected to happen when I joined the Knights of the Blood. I guess that I expected everything I did to be curtailed while I slaved away for the Knights of the Blood, earning gold and items for their coffers.

Really, though, nothing changed all that much. I was still allowed to go around fighting on the front lines, clearing dungeons, and completing quests. The only difference I could spot was that I had to wear _some_ of the KoB colors - Heathcliff had taken pity on me eventually and had the quartermaster design some light cloth armor with the darker colors and scale pattern I preferred. There were some similarities to the design of Asuna's uniform, albeit more... masculine - and that I had that little guild symbol next to my health bar.

Of course, I still had a few duties. "I don't know, Asuna," I said, gnawing at my left thumbnail as I stared at the map. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," she sighed, "but what choice do we have?"

I turned to look at my girlfriend where she stood by the window, drinking in the warm sunlight. "I just feel like something's missing. The Geocrawler is all but invincible with its heavy armor, yeah, but it just feels like there's a missing piece of the puzzle."

"But will it work?"

I shook my head. "I have no way of knowing until we implement our plan. Thing is, my gut feeling says no. Luring it to the village is going to be hard enough, and then keeping its attention on the villagers instead of the players attacking it will be all but impossible."

Asuna turned to look at me, resting on the stone ledge of the window. "I half expected you to object to putting the NPCs in harm's way."

"They aren't players," I said with a shrug. "If it's them or us, I'd rather it be them." Cold, but they weren't, well, human. NPCs could respawn. With a grunt, I turned back to the map and sighed. "We're missing something. I just know it." It wasn't clicking the way the solution did, where the answer popped out and everything fell neatly into place. This felt like I was forcing it bit by bit, and that was never a good sign. That meant I messed up somewhere earlier.

"C'mon," Asuna said, standing up. "The meeting starts soon, and we need to at least look like we have an idea." I nodded and gestured for her to lead on, following her as we exited the planning room.

The Geocrawler was the last obstacle in our path to the Labyrinth on the floor, and it was a hefty block; it had armor all over, and having players try to climb over the thing and search for a weak spot was just asking for them to get crushed. There had to be a weak point somewhere, but we just couldn't find it - it was too dangerous, and Asuna refused to put her people in danger.

We entered the cave where the meeting was taking place to find the rest of the assembled guilds and solo players already waiting for us. Asuna gave me an arch look, as if to say 'See? We're late' and I just grinned back at her without feeling chagrined in the least. "Thank you for coming, everyone," Asuna said as she moved over next to the stone table and rolled out a copy of the map we had been studying before. Unlike the map we had been studying, however, this was a crude copy on a crude piece of leather. "Rythin?"

I moved over next to her, lightly brushing her hand with mine as I passed. It was an open secret that the two of us were dating, thanks to a certain rat of an information broker, but I still felt awkward about showing it in public.

Taking a deep breath, I shifted to the public speaking 'self' and began explaining the plan we'd come up with. Despite my own reservations, I had a job to do and I was going to do it. I had to sound a hundred percent confident in the plan despite hating every bit of it.

When I got to the part where we would be deliberately sacrificing NPCs in order to keep the boss's attention, I heard someone mutter, "As expected from the Bloody Tactician," and I had to grab Asuna's hand under the table and squeeze to stop her from leaping to my defense.

The more common name people called me was Scarlet Tactician - which, y'know, wasn't bad, all things considered. It could be worse - but there were always going to be people that hated me for sounding cold and dispassionate as I outlined a plan that could end lives.

I hadn't lost anyone yet, but my methods were brutal and had broken more than one clearer by asking for too much, too often.

I wasn't sorry. There was always a price to be paid, and if that meant that I had to listen to living voices' hate instead of the laments of the dead, I'd pay it gladly. Besides, so long as Asuna believed in me, nothing else really mattered.

"Sorry, but I can't be a part of this plan."

Hiding a satisfied smile, I looked up at the teenager who'd spoken up. "Kirito," I nodded. "Am I right in assuming your objections pertain to the use of NPCs as bait?" He nodded, and I folded an arm across my stomach, resting my elbow in my hand as I waved a finger. "Is your participation, then, contingent on removing that particular part of the plan?" He nodded again. "Hm. Is there any way we could come to an agreement? Some sort of deal, perhaps."

Kirito, thank the gods, got the hint I was soft-balling him and ran with it. "I've got one in mind," he said. "A duel." I looked at him, raising an eyebrow in an invitation to continue, and he said, "You and me, one on one. If you win, I'll go along with your plan."

"And if you win the duel?" I asked him, feeling my lips twitching in a feral grin. "What do you claim as forfeit?"

"A delay," he told me. "Twenty-four hours to figure out a better way to defeat the boss. A way where no NPCs have to die."

I grinned lazily. "Sure, you have a deal." Thankfully, he knew how to read my hints. This would have been a lot harder if I had to be blatant about asking someone to stop the plan.

Of course, we still had to fight it out. "Thank you," I whispered as we shook hands prior to fighting. No need to be rude, after all, he was my friend. "I knew something was wrong, but this was the only way to delay the raid."

Kirito grinned at me. "So you're going to throw the match?" he asked with a hint of chiding. Kirito was a warrior, and something like 'throwing a match' was definitely against his principles.

I just chuckled and closed my eyes before opening them again, the colors of the world fading. Everyone knew about Future Step; I had revealed it at the same time Heathcliff disclosed information about his own Unique Skill. If he hadn't been my guild master, I doubt I would have spoken up, though. As the calm washed over me, I felt my lips crack apart into a chill smile. "Hardly," I smirked. "I'm fighting to win."

And yet, despite my tough words and despite the advantage Future Step afforded me Kirito still managed to beat me with a remarkably accurate feint with his off-hand. It was like he actually had a second sword in his hand when he swung at me and the sudden surge in bloodlust made me dodge it automatically, straight into his other sword. He had attacked... No, he had known - and the bloodlust told me - there was a second sword in his offhand. How can that be? He wasn't ambidextrous as far as I knew and even if he was, a feint felt different than an attack. He literally attacked me with nothing.

Well, whatever. I got the outcome I wanted.

After Kirito figured out the correct way to beat the boss - thanks to one of the NPCs in town - Asuna and I were relaxing at the party, our fingers laced together. "You wanted him to say something," Asuna said. It wasn't a question. "You wanted him to give you an excuse to not let those NPCs get attacked."

"It was a puzzle and we were missing the pieces," I said. "I don't care that the NPCs would die, but Kayaba would never design a puzzle where part of the solution is 'acceptable casualties'."

Asuna smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder. "It worked out in the end, didn't it?"

I leaned my weight against her slightly, feeling her shift automatically to take some of my weight. "It did. Kirito's reliable enough, so I knew he'd be able to figure it out." It bothered me a little bit that I hadn't, but I hadn't really made a point of getting to know the NPCs, so I guess it was only fair he got this win.

* * *

 **So, this is really just a thing I'm writing for myself. It's a good way to get back in the swing of writing, especially after the train wreck that was Soul's Wings. Nothing important here, just self-indulgent writing about a couple ways Nick's pairing could have ended up. Read if you want to, ignore it for the same reasons, I don't really care. This is some stupid little non-canon piece for pure shipping purposes.**

 **As for the parts here, a few of the lines/segments might feel familiar; that's because anyone that's read Sidequests will have seen this basic idea in the What If? Asuna Version chapter. Instead of pushing her away on Christmas Eve, Rythin lets Asuna explain why she likes him, and then things just snowball from there.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy. And remember, the TV Tropes page always needs updating.**


	2. Route: Asuna - Part 2

**Route: Asuna – Part 2**

* * *

 **May 4th, 2024**

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked as I entered Heathcliff's office. "Asuna let me know."

Heathcliff looked up and laced his fingers on the desk in front of him. "Ah, Rythin, excellent. You're just in time."

"Time for what?"

His lips twitched a little bit. There was something about his smile that put me on edge and raised the hairs on the back of my neck, but it wasn't that big a deal, really. "To introduce you to the members of your new squad."

My what now? "What."

"Come in," Heathcliff called out.

One of the doors on the side opened and four more players walked in; three were male and one was female, and bar none they were all at _least_ in their twenties. One guy was wearing heavy plate armor and had a massive shield strapped to his back, while the rest of them were dressed in light white and red leather armor. One had a katana sheathe strapped to his hip, while the other was carrying a spear over his shoulder and back. The woman among them had a pair of claws strapped to her hip, just like Argo normally used.

"Reporting for duty, sir," the man with the spear said. He had stubble on his chin and brown hair, and an easy-going grin. "All four of us are present and accounted for." He had a surprising resemblance to the katana guy, and I wondered if they were family.

Heathcliff nodded to him and then turned to me. "These are the Tactician's Fangs," he said.

The second guy, the one with the massive turtle-shell of armor, grinned. "We insisted on the name," he boasted.

I just kinda looked at him, then each of the other members of... the Tactician's Fangs... and then looked back at Heathcliff. "I hope you realize, this is _incredibly_ embarrassing for all parties involved," I said drily.

Heathcliff's lips just twitched again. "You're in charge of them, Rythin," he said. "Consider this a test of responsibility." Oh, you bastard. You know I won't turn down a challenge, so you're making it one.

Fuck you, Heathcliff.

"I'm Shinkuro," Armor Guy introduced himself. "I specialize in tanking."

"Nice to meet you, sir," the woman said with a huge grin. "It's gonna be great to work with you. My build's all about tracking and hunting, and my name's Nadia."

The spear guy bowed slightly. "I'm Natsuo, and this is my brother Yaji. We both operate as front-line fighters."

I tried to grin, but I think it wavered a bit. "Y-yeah. Same here..."

A few days later, I collapsed onto my bed, face first. "Asuna," I moaned, my voice muffled by the sheets.

"What?"

My girlfriend was sitting at her desk, working away as industriously as she always did. "Asuna, come lie down," I grumbled as I looked over at her. "You're working too hard."

"If it can keep people safe, I'll work as hard as I have to," she replied without looking up. Alright then. I have to take drastic measures. "So there's no such thing as - eek! Rythin!"

I had silently picked her up from behind, completely ignored her flailing protests, and sat back down on the bed, lying down again. "Work later," I grumbled. "Nap time now."

"H-hey!"

"Nope. Sleeping time. Zzzzz."

"Rythin!" Asuna squirmed, but I just tightened my grip around her waist and nuzzled against her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "Oh, honestly..."

I smiled without opening my eyes. We might be sharing a room in the Knights of the Blood headquarters - Heathcliff's idea courtesy of the quartermaster. They _claimed_ they were running low on space for new recruits, so obviously friends shouldn't have a problem sharing a room. I swear... - but we didn't get to see each other all that often. Sure, we tried to snatch time here and there, but there was just so much stuff to do.

I was actually half-asleep, Asuna's warmth against me a nice blanket, when I heard my message notification ring. "Rythin," Asuna complained, "I have to check this message." Hmm? That's either the strangest timing of message sending, or they were supposed to arrive at the same time.

Heaving a sigh, I reluctantly freed my top arm to examine my own message. Let's see... Message from Heathcliff, telling me I have the day off. Uh, okay? Not like he gets to tell me when I have off, since aside from dealing with - ugh - the Tactician's Fangs I don't really do all that much in the organization itself.

Wait. Something seemed a little fishy...

"Ugh," Asuna groaned, and I felt her body relax. "Heathcliff just messaged me and said he wouldn't accept any work I do today. He's insisting I take a day off."

Ah.

"Well," I said, "does that mean it's nap time?"

Asuna squirmed and wriggled until I was forced to let her go. "Actually," she said softly, rolling over so that she was facing me, "I had a better idea."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

About an hour later, I was seriously regretting not claiming that I had plans for our day off. Mainly because holy _crap_ Asuna could shop. This had to be the third or fourth shop and it hadn't been all that long since we left Headquarters. I mean, really, she looked cute enough in her usual casual clothes, she didn't need to be buying more.

And yet, here we were, going clothes-shopping. This wasn't the only time Asuna had dragged me along with her to get clothes, so I was used to it, but that didn't make the experience any more enjoyable. Asuna decided, for some unknown reason, that my usual grey shirt and black pants just weren't suitable anymore and so we both needed new clothes to wear when we weren't in uniform. "Mm," Asuna hummed as she circled me like a shark in bloody water, "I... don't think so. Try the red again?"

Sighing, I obliged and tapped the red shirt for sale. A temporary copy was added to my inventory so I could equip it and see how it looked. Asuna studied me appraisingly, and then frowned. "No, I don't think any of these shirts work."

"You already made me buy three shirts earlier," I said. "Is it really necessary to keep searching?"

Asuna stopped in front of me and planted her hands on her hips, long hair dancing as she tossed her head. "Well," she said, "I think we should be good for a while. You have a point."

I sighed in relief. "Oh, good."

"There is one more stop we have to make, though," she said.

I sighed in despair. "Oh, _good_."

"Don't pout," Asuna said archly. "It's close."

"Fine, fine..."

The store she led me to was actually familiar to me; it was, actually, where I'd turned that massive diamond she and I had found into reinforcement for my gloves to help me punch more better. The tailor at that shop was definitely the most talented one in the game so far, and her prices matched her reputation. I didn't have much else to blow Col on at this point bar buying information from Argo, so I didn't _mind_ paying Ashley's prices, but still... That was way too much to spend on just regular clothes.

And Asuna bought her pajamas from the woman.

The little bell above her door rang as the two of us entered, and Ashley emerged from the back of her shop. "Oh? If it isn't Asuna and Rythin," she said, waving a cigarette holder around leisurely. "And how are you two doing this fine afternoon? Out on a date?"

Asuna blushed a little bit, but said, "We are." I couldn't help but shove my hands in my pockets and shift, looking away. I wasn't embarrassed, just... awkward. I'd never had a serious relationship, so all this was new and completely, absolutely terrifying. "Oh, Ashley, did you get everything?"

"Sure thing," Ashley said. "Everything you suggested and more."

I looked over at Asuna, curious, and I swear her eyes were sparkling. Like, straight up stars in her eyes. "Asuna, what's she talking about?"

"Well," my girlfriend said, poking the tips of her fingers together, "see, the thing is, you know Liz?"

"Uh-huh..."

"So, she likes making costumes, like... like one with cat ears and a tail, and a maid outfit..."

I gaped. "How have I not heard about this before?"

Asuna flushed beet red. "Sh-shut up, Rythin..."

"No, no, I bet you looked cute," I hurried to say. "Really."

She let out a high-pitched keening noise as she buried her face in her hands. Is... is that a good thing, or...

Ashley smiled indulgently and patted Asuna's shoulder before looking at me. "Long story short, Asuna here asked me to make her a few things. Now, it's all in the back, dear, so let's go get you changed, hm?" She led Asuna into the back room, and the door closed behind them.

Well, looks like I have some time to kill, I guess. I wandered around the store looking at the mannequins on display, but the public face of Ashley's goods, the ones she didn't create by request, were oriented pretty much entirely towards girls. There just wasn't all that much to interest me, and I resorted to just pacing aimlessly.

The bell above the front door rang again and I stopped my tenth lap around the store to look over. "...and then he just smashes the sword, like it was nothing! Who does that?! I swear, if he wasn't so - oh! Rythin!"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Liz?" What are you doing here?

"Rythin's here?" A head poked around the corner of the door frame, out from behind Liz. "Rythin!" I was immediately tackled by a short brown-haired missile.

"Oof," I grunted as I caught her. "Hey, Silica. What's up, shortie?"

"Mean," she said as she released me from the hug. "You haven't visited in a while."

I just winced. "I've been super busy, but I'll try to make time soon, okay?"

"Hmm..." She nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."

Liz strolled past me. "Ashley in the back?" I answered yes, and she nodded. "You two can get caught up later, Silica, we're needed in the back."

"Pina, stay here," Silica ordered as she headed towards the back with Liz and knocked on the door. It opened and swallowed them up, and I raised an eyebrow. I... really hadn't seen ominous tendrils of darkness emanating from the back, right? That was just an illusion, right?

I felt a heavy weight land on my head and I rolled my eyes up to see Pina, Silica's tame Dragon, craning her neck to stare at me. "Hey birdbrain," I muttered. "I'm not your perch, so shoo."

"Kyaa," Pina warbled at me. I just sighed when she refused to take off again. Ugh, defeated by a pet.

I met Silica only a few weeks after Asuna and I had that talk Christmas Eve; Kirito had messaged me sometime in January, asking for my help with tracking down an orange guild, and I'd obliged. Along the way, we helped out Silica when she needed to head to a dungeon a couple floors above her level to revive the dragon that was currently using my head as a nest. She was a good kid and we'd kept in touch, trying to meet up for snacks once a month. I'm pretty sure she has a crush on Kirito, actually, since any time the subject swings towards him she blushes and gets all embarrassed.

Naturally, I try to shift the conversation in that direction whenever possible.

Liz, on the other hand, was Asuna's friend and our personal blacksmith; she always ranted to me about keeping my equipment in good condition and treating Asuna right and any other possible real or imagined flaw of mine, but she did good work.

"All done!" Ashley called out. "Well, Rythin? What do you think?"

I turned and stared, blinking a few times.

Asuna, Lisbeth, and Silica had all gotten changed into some overly cutesy maid outfit, decorated all over with pink ribbons. On top of their heads sat cat ears, each in a color that matched their hair, along with a twitching tail behind them.

"...What." I'm pretty sure that my brain is broken right now.

The girls looked at each other, then started giggling.

I coughed, cleared my throat, and shook my head sharply. "You all look lovely," I said in as composed a tone as I could manage. "S-so, this is what you had Ashley make?"

"Enough sets for each of 'em," Ashley said proudly. "My Tailoring skill got a work out."

"I'm pretty sure he likes it, from the way he's drooling," Liz said, nudging Asuna's side. "Told ya we made this look good."

"Liz!" Asuna protested. "This is embarrassing..."

I was going to say she had no reason to be embarrassed when a message notification dinged. I jumped slightly and saw Asuna do the same. Just glancing at the identity of the sender, I knew our fun little excursion had come to a close. "Really, Heathcliff?" I muttered under my breath.

Liz leered at me. "What? Sad you don't get to see Asuna all dressed up anymore?"

"Quiet, you," I grumbled. "Alright, dragon, off my head. I gotta go."

"Pina," Silica exclaimed, "come here."

The dragon let out another cry and lifted off my head before circling around Silica and settling down on her shoulder. I rolled my neck, glad the weight was off. "Alright," Asuna said, suddenly all business. "Rythin, let's go."

We were starting to head out when I paused. "Uh, Asuna?"

"Yes?"

"...Shouldn't you take off the cat ears and maid uniform before we leave?"

* * *

 **June 20th, 2024**

"Yo, bossman!"

I turned to see Shinkuro grinning as he and the other Fangs approached. "We're ready when you are, sir!" Nadia said with an eager grin.

Shinkuro and Nadia were the younger of the Fangs at 22 and 21 respectively. It felt weird having people five years older than me following my orders in dungeons, but that was nothing compared to Yaji and Natsuo. Yaji, the younger brother, was 24 and his older brother was 26. Nadia was probably the most eager of my subordinates, always ready to share a grin and a good joke. The way she acted sometimes, I wondered if she had a younger brother about my age. Shinkuro was also cheery, though in a slightly different way. Where Nadia seemed to have some limitless fountain of energy, Shinkuro just seemed to be a good person.

Yaji and Natsuo were both confident fighters, as expected, though Yaji always took the lead in fighting. When it came to social interactions, though, they were both shy, with Natsuo usually being the one to speak for both of them. It had been a challenge to figure them out, but I persevered if only to spite Heathcliff for saddling me with this problem.

"Alright, lady and gentlemen," I said with an expansive sweep of my arms. "Let's do this shit. Remember, people, safety first. You know the drill."

"Yeah!" they cheered, raising their fists in the air. They trusted me as their leader, to keep them safe and make the best decision at any time.

That made what happened next even worse. Because they trusted me, Nadia got hurt.

"We have to retreat," I said flatly. "There's no way we can continue in this condition."

Nadia was panting heavily, her body covered in red marks of damage. "I can... fight, boss..."

"No," I snapped. "We have to go. We haven't even made it to the boss yet, and you're nowhere near fighting strength."

It was a stupid trap to fall for, but the dungeon had stolen all of our healing items right before throwing a monster room at us. I'd thought I could get us through, since the items should be on the other side of the stone chamber, but... it'd proven too much for us.

Plans flew in my mind as I bit at my lower lip hard. "Shin, you're on rear. Make sure those enemies don't follow us. Yaji, you're with him. Natsuo, you and I are taking point. Nadia stays in the middle where it's safe."

"Sorry... boss..." she gasped. "I didn't mean to... screw up."

"Apologize by staying alive," I growled. "Now let's move, people."

Because they trusted me, Natsuo _died_.

They trusted that Future Step would see one step ahead of everything, but what they didn't know and what I hadn't shared was that it only affected actions assisted by the system. I didn't want my weakness being shared with everyone that had a bone, or three, or an entire skeleton to pick with me. There were other weaknesses of course - I could only see it if I could see it, for one, and of course it didn't actually assist me in dodging the attack at all.

So even I was caught by surprise when Nadia collapsed to the ground with a cry.

"Shit," Natsuo gasped as he skidded to a halt. "Nadia!"

She looked up weakly and grinned. "Whoops... My foot slipped..."

Uh-huh. And if I bought that, I'm sure you'd have a bridge to sell me next, right?

Weights and carrying capabilities flashed through my mind, and I snarled. We needed to carry her, since she couldn't walk - just trying to get up, I could see her legs shaking violently until she had to sit down again. And the only one of us with the strength to carry her without being incredibly over-encumbered and slowing down to a regular walking speed was Shinkuro. That meant he needed to be taken off rear guard. I couldn't replace him, since I was watching for ambushes, which left...

"Natsuo, swap with Shin," I said. "Shin, you're carrying Nadia. I'm taking point and we're getting out of here."

I'm not sure who I was trying to convince of that last part.

The problem with that plan, of course, was that while the way out was clear, we still had to defend against the swarming stone golems from the room that defeated us.

We were close to the exit, so close I could feel the wind on my face, when I heard a deep cry from behind me. Whirling, I felt my face grow pale as I took in the scene: Natsuo was on the ground prone, one leg ending in a weeping red grid pattern, and Yaji was staring in horror. The enemies had caught up, and Natsuo just couldn't block everything the way Shin did.

"Natsuo!" Yaji screamed.

"You have to run!" he shouted. "Get out of here!"

"No!"

I gritted my teeth as my mind raced, but there was only one possible answer to this problem. "Yaji," I said as I grabbed his leather armor and pulled, "you have to leave him. That's the only way you survive."

"But-"

"Obey me," I snapped. "I am still leader of this party, in case you've forgotten."

He gritted his teeth, but his respect and obedience won out over his compassion and he turned to bolt. I did the same, turning to give Natsuo one last look before I lowered my head and ran.

When we finally exited the dungeon and returned home, the others were silent. We'd been able to watch every instant of Natsuo's death just by looking at the health bar in the corner of our vision. "Take a week off," I said. My voice sounded calm. "Yaji, don't go out to fight for at least three days, and when you do don't go alone. Shin, Nadia, get some healing and rest. I'll need to talk to you tomorrow."

"Yes sir," the two of them chorused. Yaji just nodded, his eyes vacant.

I didn't know if he blamed me for Natsuo's death, and I didn't care. This was the price of commanding - and I didn't pay, but others did. And now one of my best had wound up dead.

I went back to my room, entered, and just sat down on the edge of the bed and stared into space. "Rythin?" Asuna asked, walking out of the side room. Judging by the water beading in her hair, she'd just gotten out of the bath. "You're back early. What changed?"

"Natsuo died."

"Oh my god..." She covered her mouth in shock and horror before coming over and wrapping her arms around me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said flatly, "and that's the problem."

"I... don't understand."

"He died and it's my fault," I said, "but I don't... _feel_ anything. I don't feel upset that he's gone, or angry that he died for nothing. All I feel right now is irritation that I have to replace him." Slowly, I turned and buried my face in Asuna's chest, letting her arms wrap around me. I didn't cry. "There's something wrong with me, Asuna. _I'm_ wrong. I should feel upset, but I don't."

"It's okay, Rythin," she whispered. "Nothing's wrong."

I just didn't want her to leave me.

* * *

 **August 15th, 2024**

"Kirito," I said with a grin. "Good to see you again, man."

He waved. "Same here, Rythin. It's been a while."

"Yeah, sorry," I said with a shrug. "Asuna and I have been super busy, but we're trying to swing a few more vacation days soon. How's things with you and yours?"

Kirito grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Liz and I are doing well."

"Moved in together yet?"

"Not ye- I mean, no," he said hurriedly. I just laughed.

Turned out that the swordsman Liz was ranting about back when she and Silica entered Ashley's store a while back was Kirito - which, to be fair, I should have expected given she was ranting about some weird guy smashing a sword in her shop. That was classic Kirito. One thing led to another, and after some story involving a mountain, a dragon, and crystallized poop, the two of them got married in-game. Asuna told me that she'd never seen Liz so happy, and I was honestly glad for both of them.

Now, if only I could get up the nerve to ask Asuna to marry me, we'd be set.

"It's almost time," I said softly. "You ready to do this?"

He rolled his shoulders and clenched a fist. "Of course," he said.

I nodded and raised my fist; he bumped it lightly. I miss being able to go do dungeons with my friend, thanks to my duties in the KoB, and this would have been like old times. If, y'know, we weren't about to spearhead a raid to attack the most infamous red guild in the game, Laughing Coffin.

Someone in their ranks had given an information broker the location of the hideout. Since that information broker _wasn't_ Argo, the information was suspect at best, and the convenient nature of someone happening to turn traitor just as tensions between the clearers and Laughing Coffin was reaching a head had raised my hackles.

So I'd played a simple shell game - publicly notify the clearers of a raid that would be taking place in late August, and then silently alert them all that the actual raid would be occurring a week before that. I didn't want to take any chances, so every communication was done through proxies and paying Argo frankly obscene amounts of money.

And it worked. We were standing in front of Laughing Coffin's hideout, a dungeon somewhere on the lower floors, and about to storm through the dungeon and attack them. "Alright, people," I said. "My Fangs will be distributing paralytic poison to you. Apply it to your blade." Yaji, Shinkuro, Nadia, and Lux slipped through the crowd, giving out the poison Lux had prepared.

Lux was a player I'd found early in my time in the Knights of the Blood; I'd rescued her from the 32nd Floor's most notorious dungeon, and after Natsuo died I'd searched for a replacement fang. She applied, and I was interested in her skills.

After everyone had applied the poison, I strode forward, entering the dungeon with the fifty-member party behind me; Kirito was to my right, but Asuna wasn't a member of this. I didn't want her to see what I was about to do. It didn't take long for us to encounter our first Laughing Coffin member. He had an orange crystal, and my eyes sharpened. "Hey, wha-" he exclaimed.

I stabbed him in the chest and kept moving, ripping my dagger out without hesitation or grace. I didn't care if he lived or died, he just couldn't notify his comrades. If he died, so what. He was a murderer.

And so was I.

Later, I walked back into the KoB headquarters. Laughing Coffin hadn't stood a chance against us, and we captured almost every single member. Nobody in the raiding party was lost, and I got to have a perfectly satisfying... chat with PoH, the leader of Laughing Coffin. He seemed almost offended that I'd attacked them. Almost like he hadn't expected a raid until, oh, a week later.

Whatever. He was dead, now.

And that first guy survived. Seemed like one of the clearers gave him an antidote before tying him up.

"Mmm..." I mumbled as I entered my and Asuna's room and curled up on the bed. "Tired..."

I think I fell asleep, because the next thing I remember was Asuna leaning over me, her hair lightly brushing my face. "Hey there, sleepyhead," she said with a fond smile. "Are you awake?"

"Am now," I said, rolling over and taking her in my arms.

"How did it go?"

I smiled smugly. "No losses, and we got them all."

"Congratulations!" Asuna leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.

Huh.

This...

...is pretty nice.

After a second, both of our brains rebooted and she pulled away, blushing bright red. I think my cheeks were flushed too, since they felt hot. "I, um... I didn't mean... I-I-" she stuttered.

Ah, fuck it. I'm tired so I'm just gonna go for it. "Asuna," I said seriously.

"Y-yes?" she squeaked.

"Will you marry me?"

Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes glimmered, and for a second I had the horrible feeling that I screwed up. Shit, shit, shit, no no no I don't wanna be alone again Asuna I'm sorry I'm sorry please just don't –

"Okay," she said, beaming at me. "Let's get married."

* * *

 **Rythin had a mini breakdown at the end there. Other than that, it's basically the same as the second half of the What If? version.**

 **New things include the Tactician's Fangs; I figured it would be a fun way to give Rythin more responsibilities and then break him by murdering one of them. Also, I snuck a fun little easter egg in the Laughing Coffin section, so yay. Other than that, just a cute little scene between Asuna and Rythin where she drags him out shopping.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy. And remember, the TV Tropes page always needs updating.**


	3. Route: Asuna - Part 3

**Route: Asuna – Part 3**

* * *

 **September 17th, 2024**

Heathcliff hadn't even batted an eye when we both requested a leave of absence from the guild, he just granted us as much time as we wanted. I think the gleaming ring on our left hands gave him an idea as to what happened, but I didn't ask any questions.

We found a nice log cabin on the 22nd Floor and moved in; after burning most of our money on furniture for the place, we actually didn't have enough to purchase it, so we had to borrow the second room in Agil's shop for the week or two while we earned enough money to afford the house. He didn't even charge rent, though I think that was less because he was doing us a favor and more because we brought him business.

After we managed to purchase the house - it was an adventure, literally, because Argo managed to trigger some Wizard of Oz-themed quest - we moved in and spent our days leisurely. Asuna had time to work on her nearly-maxed Cooking skill, I continued improving my collection of musical instruments and practiced all of them more or less daily, and we just enjoyed married life.

And that's when we had a daughter.

...Wait, that came out wrong. Still asexual.

That's when we _adopted_ a daughter.

"Asuna," I said calmly, or as calmly as I could manage while trying desperately not to laugh, "what are you doing."

"I-I'm not hiding," she protested. "I'm not scared."

"Uh-huh. And this has nothing to do with the fact that I was _just_ talking about a ghost story to do with the woods we're currently walking through, right?"

"...Yeah."

"And it also has nothing to do with the fact that we just witnessed a little girl, coincidentally similar to the one in said ghost story, walking out from behind a tree."

Asuna shivered, then smacked my shoulder. "Just go check on her. She collapsed, so maybe she needs help."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at my wife, who was rubbing her arms. I couldn't tell if she was scared, but I knew if I brought it up she'd just claim it was because she was cold because her top was more revealing than she'd expected.

"Fine, fine." I wandered over to where the little girl collapsed and knelt down. "Yeah, Asuna, you're good, no ghosts here. Come on, I think she needs help."

Asuna joined me and crouched down, smoothing the girl's hair off her face. "She's not an NPC, but she doesn't have a cursor either..."

"Must be a glitch," I said easily. I hadn't heard of anything like that happening before, but hey, Occam's Razor. "Let's take her home," I said as I picked her up. "Maybe she'll be able to tell us what she's doing out here by herself once she wakes up.

She didn't wake up that night, so Asuna and I went to sleep. In the morning, I was woken up by Asuna shaking my shoulder. "Rythin," she hissed. "She's awake?"

"Huh?" I asked eloquently. "Tha's cool..."

"Don't go back to sleep!"

About an hour later and finally awake, I sat on the bed reading while Asuna talked with the girl. "Yui..." she said. "My name is... Yui."

"And my name's Asuna," my wife said. "That over there is Rythin. Can you say that? A-su-na."

"A-u-a... Ry-in..." Yui said, and I couldn't help but smile at the way she'd mangled it.

"A-su-na."

"A-u-a..." I glanced up and saw Yui's lips tremble, and I sighed.

"Why don't you call her whatever you can say, Yui?"

She looked at me, and then back at Asuna. "Mommy?"

I froze, the book slipping through my fingers, and Asuna gaped before beaming at the little girl. "Okay, I'm Mommy."

Then Yui looked at me. "Daddy!"

Oh, that's not playing _fair_. "Alright, kid," I said. "You can call me Daddy." What else was I going to do in the face of such overwhelming adorableness?

"Yay!"

She's too cute.

After a quick lunch and in Yui's case a nap, we took Yui to the first floor orphanages. The first floor was technically run by the Army, but that asshole Kibaou had been sniffing around taking power, from the reports that I'd been hearing. "I'm sorry," Sasha said. She was the player that ran the biggest orphanage, and the one that'd know best if Yui was a member of her flock or not. "I don't recognize her at all. She might be from one of the smaller orphanages, but..."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it, Sasha. It was a long shot." I sipped at the water she had given me, while Asuna and Yui were being adorable off to the side. Sasha had been kind enough to provide the kiddo with lunch, and the little girl had offered my wife a bite of the bread. Absently, I picked a crumb off Yui's cheek where it'd gotten stuck. "We'll just keep searching."

"I'm really sorry I couldn't be of more use," she said as she showed us to the door.

When we opened the door to leave, though, there was a silver-haired woman there. "Asuna, Rythin," she said. "My name is Yulier. I've been looking for you."

"Mm?" I hummed, fingers twitching in preparation for a fight.

"Please!" she pleaded. "You have to help me!"

What the heck? I tried to subtly brush past her, but Asuna - who knew most if not all of my tricks - caught my wrist in a firm grip. "Seriously?" she asked Yulier, blinking.

Sasha visibly shook herself. "Would you like to come in?" Yulier nodded, and we parted to let her in. I watched cautiously, not entirely sure what was going on. Why would someone from the Army be coming looking for us? For that matter, how did she know where we were? We followed her at a distance while Sasha led us to the backroom where we all took a seat at the single small table. Yui sat down between me and Asuna, her eyes drooping, and I shook my head fondly. Still tired, huh, kiddo... I patted her on the head and she giggled, smiling at me.

Yulier leaned forward to start speaking, and I could almost hear the drum beats of a parade-ground cadence in the background. I listened more carefully, and chuckled to myself. The background music actually was a drum cadence. "When the guild was formed, we... well, it was actually our leader Thinker. He never wanted it to turn into the type of dictatorial organization it's become." I studied her words, and more importantly, how she had said them. She deeply respected this Thinker, stressing his importance and the pronoun she used to refer to him. "At first, the mission of the guild was to share information and food equally among as many players as possible."

"But then it got too large, right?" I said. I paid attention to guild dynamics. I kinda had to, given my job.

Yulier nodded. "Right. And after much in-fighting, one man became very powerful. His name is Kibaou." I grunted sourly. I hadn't liked the cactus-head, ever since he made Kirito pretend to be a Beater. "Kibaou and his group became stronger and stronger, monopolizing all the best monster spawn points." I nodded. That was entirely like him. And to think he had whined and moaned about the beta testers monopolizing spawn points. I rolled my eyes internally. What a hypocrite. "We heard reports that he was trying to extort other player under the pretext of collection taxes." I glanced over at Yui to see her reaching for her cup of milk. She sipped at it, her eyes drooping, and I smiled.

"So why come to us?" I asked bluntly, tired of dancing around the subject. Asuna didn't look surprised in the slightest.

Yulier smiled tiredly. "Right, I'd heard you were the type to get straight to the point. I... Kibaou has decided to eliminate Thinker now that we were considering kicking him out of the guild for good."

I raised an eyebrow as Asuna gasped. "Like a rat deserting a drowning ship. So predictable," I snorted.

Yulier looked down at the table. "He set a trap, and stranded Thinker deep inside a dungeon."

"Can't he use a teleport crystal?" Asuna asked.

Yulier shook her head. "No. He didn't bring any items or weapons with him. It was supposed to be a peace talk, not an... not an ambush."

I paused. I couldn't help myself, and I knew Asuna would be mad at me, but I had to say it. "Thinker met him. In a _dungeon_. For a peace talk. _In a dungeon_. Without weapons or items in case things went south."

"Rythin!" Asuna hissed.

"What?" I hissed back.

Yulier hung her head. "That wonderful man trusted him, and then that ba... that evil man stabbed him in the back and left him stranded there! It's quite ironic..."

"No it isn't."

I blinked. That wasn't me. That wasn't Asuna. I turned to see Yui looking up at Yulier and smiling, cute as a button. "What?" Yulier asked.

"That is not irony," Yui said. "Irony is when the situation turns out to be different from what was expected, and is often funny as a result. For example, your leader is named Thinker when he seems to actually be rather dull. The situation you described would be more along the lines of 'straightforward and expected'."

I gaped at Yui. I don't know _where_ that came from, but that was amazing and I have to slip her a cookie later. "I... I, yeah, that about sums up my response," I said. "Holy cow, Yui. That was adorabl-"

"Ahem," Asuna cleared her throat, cutting me off with a pointed look. "Yui, it's not nice to say things like that."

"Sorry, Mommy..."

Yeah, definitely slipping her a cookie later.

Eventually, Yulier got to the point and explained that she wanted us to help save Thinker from himself. I didn't want to do it, since it was his own fault, but at the same time I didn't want Kibaou in power more, so Asuna and I agreed to help him out.

In hindsight, that was probably a mistake.

"Run!" I shouted at Yulier. I'd managed to stop her from running straight into a trap when Future Step caught the surprise attack from the Fatal Scythe, the skeletal monster guarding the room and preventing Thinker from escaping. "Get to the Safe Zone!"

I scooped up Yui and held her in my arms as I bolted, Asuna hot on my heels. The Fatal Scythe moaned and prepared to swing its scythe again, and I jumped as high as could as a sweeping red arc crossed my vision. The scythe passed under my knees and I landed safely. Hitting the ground and sliding, I crossed the threshold to the Safe Zone.

For a few seconds, I just lay there, Yui trembling in my arms, and I pressed my forehead to the top of her head. "We're okay," I told her. "We're safe."

"Daddy..."

I grinned, and then looked up at the thin man standing in the Safe Zone. "So hey, you must be Thinker. Express delivery for some Teleport Crystals, sign on the dotted line, please."

"Thinker!" Yulier gasped, running up to him. "I'm so glad you're safe."

The two of them talked quietly before using the Teleport Crystal she'd brought with them. As Asuna and I prepared to do the same with Yui, she tugged on our hands. "Mommy... Daddy..." she said solemnly. "I remember, now."

Oh.

"W-wait," Asuna said after Yui explained what she remembered. "You're an _AI_?"

"Yes," Yui nodded. "Mental Health Care Program, Zero Zero One. Codename, Yui."

I blinked. "Huh. Cool. Explains the sick burn on Yulier earlier." Yui blushed while Asuna frowned at me. "What? I was impressed!" Seriously, I owed her a cookie. At this point, hearing how she had been forced to watch as player after player died or succumbed to despair, I owed her an entire bakery. "Anyway, earthshattering revelations about Yui notwithstanding, can we go home now? I'm tired and want to rest."

Yui blinked, eyes watering. "I... I can stay with you?"

"'Course you can, Yui," I said, serious for the first time today. "Why wouldn't you?"

She didn't reply, but instead rushed me, burying her face in my chest and bawling tears of happiness. "It's okay," I said, rubbing her back as I hugged her. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay."

"You're our daughter, Yui," Asuna said as she joined the family hug. "Nothing's going to change that."

"Mommy! Daddy!" she cried.

* * *

 **October 20th, 2024**

"Leaflet distribution?" Asuna and I asked in unison. Yui sat between us on our couch, looking curious.

Agil clapped his hands together. "Please!" he asked, bowing his head. "Ever since you two moved into this house, it's been really difficult attracting customers! That's why all the way out here..."

Man, this sounded like it was going to be a pain.

"Why not!" Asuna said, turning to me and smiling. "After all, he did help us when we needed a place to stay."

"Really, Asuna?" I asked, staring at her. "You can't seriously be suggesting we do it...?"

"It sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

Man... I just can't say no when she smiles at me like that. "I... Yeah, sure..." I'm getting a bad feeling about this, but both of the ladies in my life seemed like they were interested.

Two days later, I was standing in Agil's shop, leaning against the counter. "Wow~!" Silica gasped as she turned and twisted, swishing around. "The Tailoring skill can make clothes like these, too!" She certainly seemed in love with the uniform.

It was a cute maid outfit with plenty of frills. The white shirt ended with a puffed sleeve around the upper arm, and a pink tie hung around the neck. Red frills decorated their shoulders and down their side, hiding under a corset-looking dealie around their waist. The uniform also included a red skirt with white frills on the bottom as well as a white frilled apron tied in the back with a huge bow. Thigh-high black stockings adorned the girls' legs, with black shoes with a little bit of a heel buckled around their feet. Detached cuffs with frills on the edges hung around the wrists, and to finish it off, a frilly headpiece. Silica's headpiece actually replaced her usual hair baubles with ribbons instead.

Liz fidgeted uneasily in her own copy of the maid uniform. "Hey, Asuna... Is it really necessary to go this far for leaflet distribution?" She seemed embarrassed.

Not sure why, though. She definitely looked cute in it, as did Silica.

Asuna planted her hands on her hips and nodded seriously. "Yes it is, Liz," she said with a resigned sigh. "Impact is important, after all."

"She's kinda making a big deal about all this, huh," I murmured to Agil.

He just grinned and folded his arms. "Well, they'll stand out, so why not."

"Rythin!" Asuna turned and smiled. "How do I look?"

"You look really cute," I said, scratching my neck and looking away awkwardly. I still wasn't all that used to dealing with people, especially girls, and giving them compliments was pretty far out of my wheelhouse.

She giggled. "We practically forced Ashley to make enough for everyone," she said.

Yui raised her hand and waved. "Daddy, what about me?" She was dressed in a version of the uniform too, though instead of the frilly headpiece she had a pair of cat ears and a tail, just like Asuna that one time back in... May? Wow, that was a long time ago.

I knelt down and patted her head. "You look cute too, Yui," I said with a grin. She giggled and tucked her fists under her chin, smiling as her tail waved around.

"Stop wasting time, Rythin," Asuna said, studying me. "Hurry up and get changed too."

"Me?" I asked. "What?"

"Here you go~," she said, holding up...

...Was that another one of those maid uniforms.

Why was a shiver running down my spine at Asuna's sweet smile.

"What?!" I yelped, face feeling cold. "That... Guys can't equip dresses and skirts like that, right?!"

"There's no restriction like that, y'know?" my wife replied.

"What the heck! What kind of moron is Kayaba?!"

"Come on..." Asuna said sweetly, raising the outfit and a few other tube-like items. "Hurry up and get changed!" She looked like an angel, and I could hear the love in her voice.

So why was I terrified?

"Wah?!" I yelped as two grips of iron grabbed me, one on each arm. I looked around wildly to see Silica and Liz, each holding one of my arms so I couldn't run. Their eyes were gleaming.

"Rythin... would you open your menu window?" Asuna asked, and her eyes were starting to scare me.

"Um, can we… talk about this for a second and then decide not to do this? " I pleaded.

I looked to Silica for help. Her eyes were filled with sparkles, and she had a tiny little blush on her cheeks. "I think... that it'll suit you, Rythin..."

"That's really not the issue I'm having."

I looked to Liz for help. Her eyes were filled with sparkles, and she had a tiny little blush on her cheeks. She didn't say a word.

"Say something, Liz!"

"Yeah, yeah," Asuna said with a sunny smile. "Just give in, already!" I could hear the love in her voice, which a hundred percent didn't match her grip like iron as she moved my finger despite my struggles, swiping open my menu through force. The other girls were leering, watching with wide smiles. Silica kept hold of my other arm, the one Asuna wasn't manipulating.

"Wait! At least, make it something else to wear!" I cried.

They didn't stop.

"Aaaaaah!" I shouted in anguish.

Yui tilted her head in confusion as she watched everything.

When it was finally over, I clutched at the skirt I'd been forced to wear and hugged my arm protectively. "Uugh..." I muttered. "That was mean, Asuna..." I had a feeling that I had tears in the corners of my eyes, and I didn't care.

"Wooooooooow!" all the girls exploded as they stared at me, faces bright red with shock and adoration. Even Yui was staring at me in awe.

It wasn't hard to figure out why. If I looked in a mirror, I wouldn't recognize myself except for my grey eyes; not only had I been forced into the maid uniform, but those other tubes Asuna had forced me to use were makeup-related items Ashley had developed. I looked like any other pretty girl now, with light pink lips and long feminine eyelashes. To make things even worse, Asuna had included a temporary hairstyle change in my makeover which resulted in long, flowing hair that fell in waves down to my back. One lock draped over my shoulder, lightly brushing my cheek.

The outfit even had small dangly earrings to wear.

"Rythin, you're so cute!" Asuna cooed as she wrapped her arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck.

Liz stared at me, blushing. "This is... this was beyond what I imagined..."

"This is... kinda breezy..." I complained.

"You'll get used to it in no time," Asuna assured me.

I didn't _want_ to get used to it.

Suddenly, I felt someone lift up the back of my skirt. "Daddy, you haven't changed here," Yui said.

What.

"Nice job, Yui," Asuna said as the three girls pressed up against me again. "Now then..." Asuna said to me. "Open your menu window once more!"

"Th...that... Going _that_ far..." I stammered.

Then I bolted out the open door. "I'm out!"

"Ah!" Asuna exclaimed, caught by surprise.

I raced down the alleyways, keeping an eye out behind me for any pursuit. Just gotta find a place to hide until they all calm down and the items wear off...

I rounded a corner and then immediately ducked back into the alley. That was Klein and Kirito! What were they doing?! I couldn't let them see me like this. I'd never live it down.

"Geez..." I muttered under my breath. "They're insane, every single one of those girls..."

"I... foooooound... yooooouuuu..." Asuna breathed from behind me, and I stiffened in fear.

It was a perfectly natural response that every human has; flight or fight was hardwired into our brains. Problem was, as we evolved and developed our brains to specialize for tool use and not be animals, we seemed to have lost that immediate split and instead developed a freeze reflex wherein we'd just stand stock still and hope that whatever terrified us would leave us alone.

Asuna just used my paralysis to grab me firmly. "Come on, let's get back already," she lectured as she dragged me by the collar back to my doom.

I wailed, "Waaah! Nooo!" as I flailed in the air helplessly.

"The day's coming to an end, and we haven't even distributed the leaflets yet, you know."

"Uuuu..."

...In the end, they made me open my menu window one last time...

* * *

 **October 30th, 2024**

"Rythin," asked Asuna, "why is Kirito fighting Heathcliff?"

"I have no idea," I shrugged.

"Yay!" Yui cheered. "Go Uncle Kirito!"

After the fight, I frowned as Yui chatted happily about how awesome her uncle was and how much fun it was to watch him fight, the bloodthirsty little cherub. Right at the end, Kirito _should_ have won. But then I saw that weird red path right before Heathcliff pulled off an impossible dodge. How did that happen?

Alright, Rythin, let's think this through logically. Red shifts means that the system assisted with a motion. The motion assisted was Heathcliff's dodge to avoid Kirito's blow. Had Kirito's blow landed, Heathcliff would have dropped to below half health and lost the duel. Therefore, the only logical conclusion was that the purpose of the assisted motion was to avoid dropping below half health and losing the duel - especially since I hadn't seen anything like that before during the fight.

Heathcliff was called Immortal because he'd never dropped below half health. But what if it was that way because the system was protecting him? He hadn't been in a position to move at that last exchange, so the system had to have moved him. The question, then, was why was the system protecting him?

I watched as someone, probably a player that lost a bet, threw something at the wall. A purple hexagon popped up, labeling the wall an Immortal Obj...

...No.

No. _No._ Nonono.

...But it made sense. It made a lot of sense. It made _too much sense not to be true._

 _Heathcliff was Akihiko Kayaba._

"Daddy," Yui murmured, tugging on my shirt, and I automatically picked her up. "It's going to be okay," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Whatever's making you mad, it's going to be okay."

I twitched and took a deep breath, feeling the rage inside me slip away as the viper coiled back up. "Thanks, kiddo," I murmured. "Thanks. I love you, you know that?"

"Uh-huh!" she chirped before kissing my cheek. "I love you too, Daddy!"

Aww... It was enough for me to put my newest discovery to the side for the time being.

The next week, Asuna and I got a message from Heathcliff summoning us for an emergency meeting. I know my nostrils flared when I got the message, but Asuna must have missed it, buried in her own message like she was, and Yui just smiled and hopped on my lap to distract me.

"Asuna, Rythin, thank you for coming," Heathcliff said. "We've found the 75th Boss Chamber."

"That was fast," I snarked. "Time flies when we have nothing better to do than try to clear a game, doesn't it?"

"Indeed," Heathcliff chuckled. Now I could hear the falseness of the emotion. That was why it always put me on edge. "The raid is being put together soon, and we will attack within the week."

I blinked in shock, rearing back. "What?" I asked him flatly. "Isn't that my job?"

"Normally, yes," he said. "But when a recon team was sent in to gather data, the door closed behind them and separated half of the party. Ten minutes later, it opened again, and the players that had been inside... were gone. When they checked, the Monument of Swordsmen had been updated."

Meaning they were all dead. I lowered my chin, narrowing my eyes. "A trap. Anti-crystal zone, just like the 74th Boss Room, or they would have escaped. And since the door shut, we don't know anything else."

"That is correct," Heathcliff nodded. "Which is why the raid will be assembling in a week's time. Please be prepared. Dismissed."

"Sir," Asuna and I chorused; hers was snappy and respectful, mine was lackadaisical. I'd be damned before I showed that man any respect.

When we had a moment to ourselves, I hesitated. "Asuna..." I said. "I'm not going to ask you to stay behind. I wouldn't dare do that."

"Good."

"But what do we do about Yui?" Asuna's face went pale. "She might be an AI, but she's still our daughter. What happens if the boss..."

"That's not going to happen," Asuna told me firmly. "I promised you, didn't I? I wouldn't ever leave your side. And you promised me back, so you can't die either." She gripped my jacket and tucked her face into my chest, her shoulders shaking. "Got it? You can't die..."

I heaved a sigh and rested my chin on her head, breathing in her scent. "I won't, Asuna," I promised. "I'm too stubborn to die, even if I'm killed."

She just sniffled as I wrapped my arms around her.

Dealing with Kayaba could wait. I needed to be with her, in that room, at that moment.

When the day of the raid came, we dropped Yui off with Sasha. She put on a brave face, but I knew our kid knew what was up. I could tell she was only moments away from crying, not knowing if she'd see either of us again, and truth be told I wasn't far from tears myself. I'd carved out a life here, a family, and I didn't want to lose it again.

When we arrived in the 75th city's plaza, I looked around for two people I knew were going to be there. When I spotted them, I waved Asuna along with me. "Argo," I said. "Kirito," I said. "Come with me."

"What's up, Ry?" Argo asked once I dragged them all into an alleyway. "You tryin' ta set up a foursome? I'm in, bu' I think Kirito's girlfrien' will be jealous."

"No, Argo," I said as Asuna and Kirito blushed. "Not a bad idea, but no." She knew I was asexual. She was just messing with me. "This is important business."

"Oh?" And just like that, the Rat was there. "Do tell, Ry."

"Kayaba is here, in this game, and I know who he is."

"What?!" Each one of them yelped the same thing, and I hurriedly hushed them.

I looked around to make sure nobody had noticed. I couldn't trust any of them. Kayaba could have paid any number of players to keep on the lookout and report to him if his identity was discovered. "Be quiet," I hissed. "Just knowing that puts you in danger. I won't blame you if you duck out now."

"Ry, we're already in this shit waist-deep," Argo snorted. "Jus' tell us already."

"It's Heathcliff."

I was impressed; they managed to keep themselves quiet, though Asuna went very pale when she heard the news. "No way..." she muttered. "Commander Heathcliff... is Kayaba?"

"I don't have time to explain," I said. "Argo, if all three of us don't make it back after this boss fight, you go public with this stuff, okay?"

She frowned. "Y'make it sound like yer not plannin' on comin' back."

"We have a slim chance," I said. "A very slim chance, and it's only coming immediately after this raid. Kirito, you're gonna take point man because I think Heathcliff suspects me." It was only good sense to believe that, at any rate. "Here's the plan..."

...

Everything had gone according to plan. Kirito had revealed Heathcliff's Immortal Object status to the entire room with a surprise attack right after the boss died, and Kayaba revealed his true identity.

What I hadn't expected was for Kayaba to offer Kirito a chance to fight him, right there and then, to clear the game. Kirito, of course, accepted.

And lost.

"N-no way..." I stuttered. Kirito's hands went limp, dropping his swords. "K-Kirito...? Kirito? Kirito!"

I was on my feet, somehow, despite the paralysis. Kayaba had taken my friend. He'd _killed_ my friend. And for that he died.

"Oh?" Kayaba asked, studying me as I slowly approached him, fighting the paralysis every step of the way. "How are you doing that?" he asked calmly, as if the answer was of no importance.

"Sheer determination and the desire to cut you apart," I answered just as calmly. I was pushing the limits of what the system would allow. If anything, I had already broken the system by still moving though paralyzed.

But come hells or high water, he was going to die with my blade in his throat.

"How admirable," Kayaba remarked. "But you must accept that you can't win."

I nodded. "We'll see if that's the case. But really, I should thank you for this." I drew the Nightblade. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have discovered my talents." I swung, forcing protesting muscles to fight past the paralysis. Kayaba only chuckled and knocked it aside with his shield. My blow didn't have the speed or strength I normally had, but that didn't matter. My talents didn't lie in a straight-out fight, after all; I had too little HP to survive a one-on-one with any sufficiently skilled fighter, and my skills lied in planning and sneak attacks. But I still had to try. With little effort, Kayaba slammed his shield into my gut, sending me flying back. Painfully and slowly, I forced myself to my feet again, continuing to approach despite the paralysis. I kept the small smile on my face the entire time - I simply had no other feelings to show other than my killing desire.

Time after time, I stood, approached, and swung. Time after time, he blocked and knocked me back down. He frowned as I approached yet again. "Why do you keep standing? You can't win."

"Because you hurt Kirito. Because you lied to me. Because you lied to the woman I love." My smile didn't falter. This wasn't working. I wasn't going to win. There was only one thing I could possibly think of to surprise him enough to let me get an attack in.

I stood up straight, Nightblade hanging at my side in my hand. I walked forward slowly and calmly, letting the tension build. The closer I got, the more of Kayaba's attention would be focused on the dagger. I approached with the same small smile on my face and the madness and killing desire dancing in my eyes.

I raised the Nightblade slowly, forcing all of his attention toward the blade. The instant Kayaba's attention was entirely focused on my dagger, I let go. It dropped and I immediately brought my other hand up, fighting the game. I clapped, once. The sound rang out dully - it wasn't a good clap, and it wasn't a natural motion. It worked precisely because it wasn't natural; it was so unexpected that Kayaba jerked back, momentarily at a loss. That gave me the opening I needed, and I lunged forward, hand grasping for his neck. If I could get at his neck, I could kill him. It only took a small amount of pressure to crush the windpipe, after all. Even if he killed me, I'd be able to squeeze hard enough to collapse it. Even a virtual avatar needed to be able to simulate breathing, which was why it was possible to drown in this game.

Suddenly, my body stopped moving forward. I blinked in surprise, the emotionless state broken. Why had I stopped, I wondered. The paralysis wouldn't do that - I had been fighting it long enough to know what it felt like. I looked down in confusion and realized exactly why I had stopped. Kayaba's sword was piercing my chest, holding me in place and quickly draining my life. I looked back up at him, and there was no expression on his face. He wasn't killing a human - he was just removing an obstacle from his path.

Perfect.

Before he could pull the sword out, I reached out and grabbed it, holding it in my body. Slowly, agonizingly, I dragged myself down the blade until the crossguard touched my stomach. "N-now," I coughed.

That's when I felt a second sword pierce through my chest, ripping through me from behind and slamming into Kayaba's heart.

"Damn it..." Asuna whispered. "You... crazy idiot..."

I just coughed again when I tried to laugh. "Love you... A-Asuna..."

Everything went black as the system declared that I had died.

...

I opened my eyes. Fucking Kayaba. First he says that death was permanent, and then he tells me and Kirito - Kazuto, I guess - that we'd cleared the game.

And clearing the game, obviously, meant that we had survived.

The hospital room was blurry and my entire body felt like lead. But I was alive. Kazuto was alive. And most importantly, Asuna was alive.

Kayaba had even, somehow, known about Yui and transferred her main program to my NerveGear. How he did it, or why, I don't know. Maybe it was some strange reward for discovering his secret.

All I knew was, it was time to find my family again.

"Ghk..." Translation: Nurse, can I get my glasses?

Okay, first it was time to get some water for my parched throat. Then I'd get those really, _really_ invasive tubes out of my body.

And _then_ it was time to find my family.

* * *

 **May 2nd, 2026**

I fidgeted as Asuna adjusted my tie again before finally deciding it would suffice. "I'm, uh, really not sure this is the best idea," I said.

"Oh, you'll be fine," my girlfriend told me. "Just be polite and it'll be okay. My dad already loves you, and my mom..."

She trailed off and I coughed nervously. "Let's just say that you're doing well," she finished. "Besides, so long as you don't punch someone in the face again, it can't be worse than the last time you met my parents."

I protested, "Sugou had it coming."

"Did you have to punch him that hard, though?"

"I only broke his nose. And two of my knuckles. And that was after he tried to stab me with a knife. So really, if you think about it, by all metrics I'm the victim in that scenario."

" _Two knuckles_ , Rythin," Asuna told me primly. I just rolled my eyes and tried vainly to loosen the noose around my neck before Asuna smacked my hand for fidgeting with it. "Let's go. They're waiting."

We stopped outside the dining room door, and I licked my lips before letting out a huge sigh. "Remember," Asuna whispered, "just be polite."

She opened the door and stepped in. I followed her a moment later before bowing politely. "Ah, Nick," Mr. Yuuki said genially. "Good to see you again, son. It's been a while."

"Yes sir, it has," I agreed. Asuna almost looked surprised by my tone. Hey, just because I'd never been respectful to Heathcliff didn't mean she hadn't seen me be respectful to anyone else...

Actually, wait, she hadn't...

"And in much better circumstances this time, too," I added.

"That's true," he said. "Now come, sit down and let's eat."

Dinner with the parents. Yay.

As we ate the delicious meal - which I complimented, naturally, and Mr. Yuuki told me over his daughter's protests that Asuna had made most of it - I kept feeling waves of disdain coming my way from Mrs. Yuuki. I glanced her way once or twice, but I never caught her eye. Once we were finished, though, she put her cutlery down and the light clicking was like the tolling knell of a funeral bell. "So, Mr. Weyr," she said, and I could feel the ice in her tone. "I see you haven't given up on my daughter."

"Nor will I," I replied, frost lacing my own voice despite my best attempts. "I love her dearly, and nothing will stand in my way if she needs my help."

"Oh?" An eyebrow quirked up. What gives, Asuna? You said that she was better after you had that chat with her thanks to Yuuki's advice. This is _better_? "Quite the wild child, I see, to resort to violence immediately. You aren't worth my daughter," she said bluntly, cutting to the chase.

I could respect that.

"Mom," Asuna began, before I gently tapped her knuckles.

"It's alright," I told her with a gentle smile. "Mrs. Yuuki," I said, and nothing about me was gentle. "You think that I'm not worth your daughter. Honestly, I agree with you. But frankly, that is _not_ your decision to make."

"What?" she hissed.

"It's not yours, it's not mine," I said, steel in my voice and spine. "It's Asuna's choice who she deems worthy."

She studied me for a second, then leaned back. Just like that, the ice and tension disappeared. "You were right, Asuna," Asuna's mom said. "He does love you."

"Huh?" I asked blankly. What just happened?

"I told you, Mom," Asuna said. "Couldn't you just trust me?"

"I had to make sure he didn't have any ulterior motives."

"Wait, I'm confused. What's going on?" I asked weakly. "Can we, maybe, back up a step or five?"

Mrs. Yuuki ignored my confusion and looked at me. "Mr. Weyr... No, Nick." She smiled. "Please, take care of my daughter. She loves you dearly, and I want the best for her. I thought I knew how to give her that, but it seems she's already found it herself."

I just nodded dumbly. "Y-yeah, of course..."

I really wish someone could explain what was going on... And why is Mr. Yuuki laughing so hard?

* * *

 **And that's the end of Route: Asuna. How sweet.**

 **First bit was Yui; she's a sweetheart, and Rythin has practically no defenses against cute girls like her asking him for help. Her out-of-nowhere burn on Yulier is because I think she would mold some of her underlying personality on what would appeal to her parents, and Rythin obviously liked that. (She probably made verbose comments like that while eating lunch, but we're glossing over that SO)**

 **Fun fact: I didn't think about how the whole thing would end, and then I realized that the combination of Rythin giving zero fucks about anything and Future Step would lead to him being able to get everyone to the Safe Zone without having to fight the Fatal Scythe, and then his lackadaisical nature when it came to family would completely short circuit Yui's pleading confession by not giving a fuck about drama.**

 **Next bit was an adaptation of MAID iN AINCRAD. Poor Rythin… Guy just doesn't ever get to catch a break.**

 **The end of the Aincrad arc was something I wanted to play with for a while. Since he's had a girlfriend/wife for a year instead of just a week, Rythin was a lot more open to asking for help from the others. (Plus I wanted to get Argo some screentime. Me? Play favorites? Don't know what you're talking about… (Argo best girl)) The end of the fight was also something I'd wanted to try ever since finishing Aincrad in the first story, since Rythin clearly doesn't care about his own well being. The sword-stab thing was dumb and stupid and I don't even care.**

 **And then the meeting with the parents. Maybe a little heavy-handed, but I thought it was fun.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone.**


	4. Route: Lisbeth

**Route: Lisbeth**

* * *

 **June 25** **th** **, 2025**

I glanced around me at the blacksmith shop Asuna had recommended me. "This... this _is_ the place, right?"

I probably shouldn't have been surprised, really. I knew that 'Lisbeth's Smith Shop' couldn't have been a big name in most ways, or I would have heard about it before I went to Asuna for advice. It looked small; it was on the very edge of the town, just barely in the Safe Zone, and it only had one waterwheel fed by a babbling stream. Some of the bigger blacksmith shops on this floor had two or three waterwheels at the very least. And the size of the shop itself wasn't doing it any favors.

Somehow, I had a good feeling about this place. It felt warmer than every other blacksmith shop I'd been to. Maybe I'd finally find what I was looking for here.

When I pushed the door open, a bell rung above me. I didn't see anyone manning the shop, so I just wandered around examining the wares for sale. Lisbeth didn't seem to have an AI running the register, so either she didn't have the money to pay for one or she didn't have enough customers to need one... Or maybe she just liked dealing with her customers anyway.

As for the weapons available, it was a respectable selection. I saw a couple daggers, a few maces and spears. The most common was swords, however; they rested in display cases and hung off the walls. Some of them looked nice enough, but by and large they were all long and thin weapons. Looks like if I want to get Kirito that thank-you gift for looking out for me so many times, I'll have to commission it specially.

"Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop!"

I turned casually and raised an eyebrow. Someone was surprisingly chipper. "Hey."

The girl standing by the counter - a door to a back room, I must have missed that on my first glance - was young, probably a few months to a year younger than me. Definitely shorter; my eyes were about level with the top of her head. Her most striking feature was her bright pink hair, held out of her face by a white barrette. From there, I took in her dark pink eyes, the smattering of cute freckles across her cheeks, and the wide, completely neutral grin on her face. She was good, but I was better; I could tell she was sizing me up as a customer the entire time.

Her uniform was something I assumed was for blacksmithing, but it reminded me more of the uniform a waitress would wear; the top was mostly dark red with puffed sleeves that ended with white cuffs around her wrists. A large ribbon sat on top of the white part of her top that stretched from her collar to about her stomach. The top flowed down to end in a flared skirt, with a pure white apron tied over that. Her brown boots were tall, up to about her knee, and a red band around the upper thigh of her left leg peeked out from under the skirt.

Overall judgment of her appearance was that her gear was designed for aesthetic appeal rather than protection like my equipment - my carapace armor was thin, light, and flexible but still offered plenty of protection. The tough shell could shrug off pretty much anything barring a complete defeat, and even then I'm pretty sure it'd hold together long enough for me to defeat whatever shredded my armor. On the other end of the spectrum, Lisbeth's outfit was pretty much designed to appeal to any hot-blooded male that walked through that door.

Sorry, Miss Shopkeeper. I'm not exactly hot-blooded.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for a sword," I said as I sauntered over to the counter. "It's a gift for a friend. Do you do custom orders?"

Lisbeth studied me. "I can," she said dubiously, "but it's expensive. Metal prices are high these days."

"Price isn't exactly an objection," I said as I swiped open my menu. "I just need you to make the best sword you can, as soon as possible."

"I make a lot of swords," she said, "but if you have an idea of what you want I can try to make something."

I scrolled through my items before I grabbed the one I wanted. "Here," I said as I handed her a list. "This should be all the stats visible by someone with a high Appraisal skill. Something like this would be great."

She studied it. "What sword did this come from?"

"An Elucidator off the 50th Floor."

Lisbeth gasped. "No way! That's the best sword you can get from a monster drop."

I folded my arms. "So, how 'bout it? Think you can make something as good as this?"

She studied me, hand on her chin, then turned to take down a sword hanging behind her. Man, I can already tell this isn't going to work, but maybe... What do I know about swords anyway? "Try this," she said, handing me the blade. It felt light and looked thin. "It's the best sword I've ever forged. I call it my masterpiece."

"Hmm..." I hummed as I tilted the blade in my hand. I hadn't ever actually held Kirito's Elucidator, but I'm pretty sure he said he preferred heavy swords. "It's kinda light."

"It should be," Lisbeth replied. "I used a speed-type metal to forge it."

"Hm." I hefted the blade one more time before looking her way. "I'd like to test it, if that's okay with you. Like I said, it's not for me, but I have a fairly good idea of what he's looking for."

"Test it how, exactly?" she asked, looking at me skeptically.

"Just a simple durability test."

I placed the hilt of the sword on her counter, the blade hanging off the edge. With one hand I kept a firm grip on the hilt, ensuring it wouldn't move anywhere, while with the other I clenched a fist and drew my hand back. "What are you doing?!" Lisbeth exclaimed, raising her hands to stop me. "If you hurt yourself, I'm not responsible!"

"We're in a Safe Zone, so that's not a problem!" With a harsh breath, I slammed my fist down.

The sword snapped in two with a soft _ping_ sound.

The tip went cartwheeling through the air, and both Lisbeth and I turned to watch it as it clattered against the wall before dropping to the floor, still ringing out from the heavy blow I'd dealt it. We both stood there in silence, staring at the broken blade, before it fuzzed and shattered.

"Huh," I said lightly.

Lisbeth clasped her hands to her cheeks and screamed in absolute horror.

"Um... sorry?"

She didn't reply and just snatched the remaining part of the blade from my hand, staring at it as if looking would keep it from disappearing now that it was broken. "You broke my... masterpiece..." she whispered. I blinked and hummed in thought. The blade in her hands shattered and floated away into the sky. Go, be free! Go out and live, little polygons.

With a quiet whimpering sound, Lisbeth collapsed to the floor on her hands and knees.

I looked at her as she trembled. Is... Did I break her? Man, Asuna's gonna be _pissed_ at me...

Suddenly she whirled and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me up a little bit. "What the heck were you thinking?!" she yelled at me.

"Sorry," I said. "Your sword broke a little easier than I thought. If I'd known, I would have held back -"

She tightened her grip and tugged again. "Are you saying my best sword, my masterpiece, was lamer than you thought?"

I looked away. "Mm... Yeah."

She looked like she wanted to hit me, but settled for letting go of my shirt and smacking my chest. "For your information, if I had the right materials I could make a boatload of swords so tough you'd break your fist before you left so much as a dent."

I smirked. "Oh? Sounds like that's what I'm looking for. Why don't you get started on that, then?"

Lisbeth flushed bright red, and I fought to keep a smile off my face. This was fun! "Rrgh..." she growled. "Fine! But you're helping me every step of the way."

"Seriously?" I sighed. "That sounds like work..."

"You broke my best sword, so deal," she said without missing a beat. "And we're starting by getting the metal for it."

I spread my hands in the air and shook my head. "Sure, whatever. Tell me where it is and I'll go grab it for you. It'll be faster without you slowing me down, though."

"Hey, don't insult me," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I'll have you know I'm an expert mace user."

"Whatever," I said again. She was determined, I'll give her that. I probably wouldn't win an argument against her. "So where's this precious metal?"

"Floor 55, on the western mountain," she said. "There's a dragon there that eats crystals. According to the legends, it has the metal in its body."

I frowned. "Floor 55, huh?" If I'm remembering right, the western mountains are trapped in a perpetual blizzard... "I know you want to tag along, but it'd be best if I went by myse-"

"And," she continued, cutting me off while smirking slyly, "to get the metal you need to bring a master smith along. Still think going alone's a good idea?"

I stared at her through lazy eyes, but I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything. She was bound and determined to go with me; and if I tried to insist on going alone, I'd have to get my Metalworking skill up to a level that was high enough, at which point it would be way too late to give Kirito a meaningful present. Man... "I..." She smirked wider, letting out a satisfied sound, and I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Just stay out of the way, got it?" Asuna would kill me if I let her friend get hurt. No, correction, she'd skin me alive and _then_ kill me.

"Stay out of the -"

I cut off her outrage by extending my hand. "My name's Rythin. Looks like we're in a party for now."

She tilted her chin up. "Whatever, Rythin," she said, spitting my name like it offended her. Oh? No recognition of the name? She must not gossip with Asuna all that much, or if she does I never came up. And given that she's a blacksmith, she probably doesn't get much information about the front lines. Since I have a mostly planning role, as opposed to Asuna or Heathcliff, I'm not surprised she doesn't know me.

"So, that's how it's going to be, then?" I said lightly. "Sure, I can work with that. Lizzzzbeth."

She pouted, puffing her cheek out.

* * *

As we trudged through the snow on Floor 55, I couldn't help but be impressed by Lisbeth's stubbornness and tenacity in keeping up. She was holding her arms and shivering non-stop - probably because she didn't bother changing out of her uniform beyond equipping some light metal armor - and yet she hadn't slowed down in the slightest.

I mean, it was still funny, but also impressive.

"Ah-ah-achoo!" I glanced over my shoulder to see her looking absolutely miserable. "It's cold..." she muttered.

"This is why I told you to wear a coat," I pointed out mildly.

"I didn't know Floor 55 was going to be this freaking cold!" she told me.

Something about her made the cold, black stone that was my heart twitch, and I rolled my eyes before opening my menu. After grabbing the item I wanted, I tossed it at her, and the long wool-lined cloak landed on her head, draping over her. "Put it on," I said.

"Are you going to be okay without this?" she asked me.

I just grinned. "Eh, I'll be fine. Besides, you looked miserable, and I guess _maybe_ it's kinda my fault you're out here, so..." I shrugged. "Might as well be warm, right?"

"...Right..."

I turned back towards the path we'd been following. If my map was right, this _should_ lead up to the dragon's nest. "Let's go. Now that you're warm, you should stop slowing me down, right?"

I didn't see her expression, but I heard her snap, "If you're trying to piss me off, it's working."

Smirking, I kept walking. After a few seconds, I realized I didn't hear her footsteps behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see her standing still, breathing on her hands. She looked deep in thought. "What's wrong, Lisbeth?" I called. "Giving up already?"

"Not on your life!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists. "And if you're gonna be a jerk about it anyway, you might as well call me Liz."

I smirked. Me, be a jerk? That's like asking water to be wet. "Okay, sure, _Liz_."

"Yeah, well... Don't wear it out!"

We focused more on reaching the top of the mountain and less on idle chit-chatting, so Liz and I didn't talk all that much on the way up besides the requisite pointing out of paths and handholds. When we reached the top of the mountain, though, Liz ran over to the side.

The main path we'd been following cut through a massive field of tall crystals, and they were all incredibly clear and reflective. "Wow," Liz gasped in awe as she leaned over a patch on the side. "It's beautiful!"

With the lightly falling snow, the field of crystals stretching around the mountaintop, and the large massive outcropping of crystals at the end of the path, I couldn't help but agree.

Laughing, Liz started to run forward, and I casually reached out and grabbed the hood of the cloak I'd given her. It yanked her back, and she rounded on me. "What's your problem?" she demanded.

I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Get your Teleport Crystal ready," I told her. "We're at the top, where a _dragon_ is supposed to live. And I don't see a dragon anywhere."

"I know, I know, I'm doing it," she muttered as she rummaged through the crystal pouch on her waist.

"Find a safe spot while you're at it," I 'suggested'. "This part I'm doing by myself. Hide under some crystals and don't come out until the dragon's defeated."

Liz frowned. "Hey, don't treat me like some noob," she grumbled. "I can help too, if you'd just let me -"

"Do what I say!" I snapped. If Liz got hurt because I took her out, Asuna would... I didn't even want to think about it. "Please," I added in a gentler tone.

She was staring at me, wide-eyed, and gave a jerky nod. I let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks," I said, reaching out and patting her head as I passed her. "And... sorry for yelling. I just don't want you to get hurt."

I stepped forward, approaching the massive crystal, and triggered Future Step. One step, two step, three... On my fifth step, a loud angry roar echoed across the mountain's peak and I grinned fiercely. Here we go. "Hide," I told Liz.

"Okay!"

I spared just a glance to make sure she was obeying before I unsheathed the Nightblade and stood loosely, ready for anything. The mountain of crystal in front of me shuddered, and I groaned. "Of course..." First it lifted a little bit, pieces falling and cracking off, and then a massive claw burst from underneath it. "Of _course_ that thing was the sleeping dragon."

X'rphan the White Wyrm threw its head back and roared, flapping its wings and sending a gust of wind my way, and I cracked my neck. "Let's do this," I muttered.

It opened its jaws wide and let out a deep roar, and I saw a collection of white light and electricity crackling inside its mouth. "Look out, it's a breath attack!" Liz shouted.

But I'd already started moving; the attack was assisted by the system and as such it fell victim to Future Step. It took a long time to charge and I had plenty of warning to counter. I slid my left foot back behind me and tensed, preparing to strike at the perfect time.

The Wyrm roared and let loose the blast of energy, and I exhaled harshly as I punched forward. The force of my punch smashed into the leading energy blast and I leaned into the blow, trusting my experience to get me through this. As I'd expected, the breath attack split past me and thundered into the sides, smashing crystals harmlessly.

Laughing triumphantly, I dashed forward and lunged for the dragon's chest, using a simple Dagger Sword Skill to augment my already impressive jumping capabilities and reach the dragon with no problem. The Nightblade's point skittered off the crystal plating of the dragon, and I frowned. It swiped at me, roaring, but I was already contorting my body in midair. The claw passed harmlessly under me and I landed on its arm, spinning my dagger and plunging it into the soft flesh underneath its scales. The boss roared in agony and I used its flailing to rotate around the limb entirely, severing the massive claw.

As I launched myself forward, I sheathed the Nightblade. Irritatingly enough, the dragon seemed to be immune to poison, so there was no reason to keep using it. But that's why I had my Martial Arts. With a series of consecutive heavy blows, I shattered the crystal plates guarding its chest.

For a second, I hung off of its chest, fingers around a shard of crystal still attached to it. "Hurry up!" I heard Liz shout, and I snapped my head around to see that she'd come out of hiding. "Stop playing with it and finish it off already!"

"Shit!" I swore and immediately jumped away, hoping I'd be able to make it in time.

But I could see with Future Step I wouldn't be quite fast enough. X'rphan roared, red eyes gleaming, and it flew higher than before as it snapped out its wings. It was using the blizzard attack because Liz was too far away for anything else, and she'd attracted its attention.

The blizzard whipped towards Liz and she screamed as she was flung back by it. "Liz!" I shouted, landing on a crystal outcropping and racing towards her, the uneven footing as good as flat ground to me.

The blizzard threw her back in the air, and I gritted my teeth as I realized her path would end right above the massive hole in the field. I don't know why it was there, but what mattered was that I'd examined it earlier and it was deep enough that Liz would die if she fell down there.

Shit!

I launched myself down into the pit after her. She was screaming with terror, arms spread out as she instinctively tried to slow down. I was moving faster than her, so I was able to catch up to her and grab her hand with my own. "Hang on, Liz!" I shouted as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to my chest. I felt her press her hands to my chest, huddling close.

I had more health than she did, so I could survive longer falls than she could.

So I rolled in the air to hit the ground first, listening to her scream in terror, and held her tight as I braced myself for impact.

* * *

"Ow..." I muttered, sitting up and rubbing my head. "Well, either I'm alive or this is the shittiest hell imaginable." My health was low and in the red, but I was alive. "Liz, you doing okay?"

"Yeah... I'm here." I looked over to see her sitting on the snowy ground, head hung low. She was low on health too, and looked really upset.

Shrugging, I pulled a health potion out of my inventory. "Here."

"Huh?"

"You're hurt," I said. "So here."

Liz blinked, as though she was looking at me for the first time. "Oh, uh, thanks." She took the health potion and drank it down as I did the same with a second potion. "Hey, Rythin? I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said with a shrug. "We're both alive, and that's what matters. You're okay, right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for saving me..."

"No problem."

I sat back and rested, staring up at the sky for a bit. It was getting dark; I'm not sure how long we were out, all things considered, but it _probably_ wasn't more than an hour or two. Only a few flakes of snow were drifting down to land on us, and I leaned back in the snow.

It's been a while since I just sat back and relaxed, hasn't it? Normally I'm always moving, forcing myself to fight from the moment I'm awake to the moment I collapse in my bed. But there's nothing to fight down here, and no reason not to just sit back and let the tension from the boss fight drain out of me.

...

Yeah, okay, that's enough of that. I sat up, brushing the snow off me, and cracked my neck. "Alright, let's see about getting out of the hole," I said. "Really don't want to be down here when someone starts dropping down lotion."

"Can't we just teleport out?" Liz asked me. Before I could reply, she hefted her Teleport Crystal and called out, "Teleport, Lindas!"

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" she gasped, staring at the crystal in her hand that was stubbornly staying inactive. "No way!"

I sighed. "Great, a crystal trap. Faaaantastic. Wonder where the exit is, then..."

"How do you know there is one?" Liz asked me, hands on her hips. "For all you know, this pit was supposed to kill anyone that fell into it."

"You're right," I said as I cast my eyes over everything in sight. The hole at the top, the snowy ground, the walls... "We're trapped down here forever and we're both going to die."

She huffed. "Would it kill you to try to cheer me up?"

"You can do it, Liz. We're gonna survive, no doubt about it in my mind," I said in a deadpan.

"...Jerk."

I smirked before flexing my hands. "Hm... Let's see..." If it were Kirito down here, he'd probably do something stupid like try to run up the wall. Since I'm not Kirito, I'm not going to do that, and I doubt it would work. Instead... "I wonder." With a jump, I launched myself at the wall and scrabbled for a handhold. I found one and swung myself up again, reaching for another one and then another.

"No way..." Liz gasped from below me.

I threw myself at the next handhold I spotted, only for my hand to slip on the ice. "Well, fu-" I started to say before I landed on the ground again, sinking into the snow. "...Fuck."

Liz wandered over and peered at me. "Well?"

"Do you have the Acrobatics skill?"

"...No."

"Then we're not getting out that way."

Nothing else I tried worked, but I didn't give up. Cardinal wouldn't make anything that's inescapable; it's literally programmed not to do that. Even if we did find some strange exploit that hadn't been corrected, the AI's nature would update the world with a way out sooner or later.

Before long, it got too dark to keep searching for the exit, even with the lamp that Liz put down and lit. The warm flickering lights played across our faces as we both sat in sleeping bags; I hadn't been sure how long it would take to get the metal, so I'd brought a pair with us just in case. Good thing I brought two, or this would end up being very awkward.

"This is kinda weird, isn't it?" Liz said out loud, and I rolled onto my side to see her gazing at me. "This wouldn't happen in real life. You know, going to strange places, meeting a total stranger, and then sleeping next to them."

"You literally just described my Wednesday evenings."

She blinked at me, a little nonplussed, and I smiled. "Just messing with you. Relax, I'm as new to this as you are. Frankly, I'm amazed you haven't tried to hit me yet for being such a jerk to you."

She giggled. "It's okay... I think you're pretty funny, really."

"Oh?"

"I mean, you actually tried running up that wall! You really are a weirdo, you know that?"

...Okay, so _maybe_ some of my ideas were getting desperate. But I didn't hear you suggesting anything, Liz.

"Hey," I protested, but there wasn't any heat to it. "Not nice."

Liz fell silent, but she kept watching me. I did the same, waiting for her to say something. I could see it in her eyes, her desire to ask a question. "Hey, Rythin?" she said finally. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just - yeah, sure, go ahead," I said, hurriedly dropping the joke when I saw her glare at me.

She looked away. The lamp light was playing tricks on my eyes, making it look like her cheeks were flushed. Or maybe it was the cold. "Why did you risk your life like that to save me?"

I shrugged as well as I could in my sleeping bag. "Well, I wasn't going to just let you die. Dying alongside you would have been better than just doing nothing. Especially for someone like you, Liz." Seriously, I was terrified of what would happen if Asuna found out I took her friend to a mountain and then let her die.

"Ah, you're such an idiot," Liz sighed, looking up at the sky again. Hey, no I'm not. "You're the only person who'd think like that." Asuna's subordinates would like to disagree with your statement.

She fell silent again and I closed my eyes, trying to calm my mind. It usually took a while for me to fall asleep, and tonight was no exception. I tried to wait until I was exhausted, so that I would fall asleep quickly and dreamlessly, but it looked like tonight was going to be a bad night.

"Hey..." Liz said quietly, and I opened my eyes to meet hers. "Hold my hand?"

I don't know why, but why not? "...Sure." I freed my hand from the sleeping bag and reached out, meeting her hand halfway. She intertwined her fingers with mine, and I didn't pull away.

"It's so warm..." she said.

"Hm?"

"Even though we're in here, and it's just zeroes and ones, your hand is warm," Liz said.

I grinned. "Yeah." Closing my eyes, I tried to fall asleep, without thinking too hard about what lurked in the dark. Gods, I hate falling asleep in unknown locations...

Somewhere along the line I succeeded.

* * *

I was the first to wake up, fortunately, because it would have been _really hard_ to explain the position Liz and I were in.

See, I was a restless sleeper, when I wasn't sleeping well. I tended to flail and jerk about during the night. I never woke up, of course, but back in the real world I'd routinely go to sleep and wake up on the other side of the bed with the sheets in disarray.

Furthermore, to go along with Liz's request, I'd needed to unzip the sleeping bag. She'd done the same, more or less.

I don't know _how_ I managed to do it, but the end result of my sleep last night was that I'd migrated from my sleeping bag to Liz's sleeping bag and was currently cuddling against her, arm draped over her shoulders with our chests pressed together.

...Fucking Cardinal, _why did you have to simulate the natural male reaction when waking up_? This could end _really badly_.

Somehow, a guardian angel must have been watching over me, because I was able to extricate myself without waking her up; I had to free my hand, but Liz only mumbled something in her sleep and shifted. Sighing in relief, I stood up and cracked my neck before resuming my search for the exit. The only place I hadn't searched yet was below us, so...

As I was digging through the snow in an attempt to find some cave entrance or something, I heard a light smacking sound and looked over my shoulder. Liz was looking my way, cheeks red and hands raised. Probably just lightly smacking her cheeks to wake herself up. "Morning," I said easily.

"What're you doing?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Searching for a way out," I said. "But here, look."

I reached over beside me and tossed the object to her. She fumbled the catch but pressed it to her stomach, cradling it, before lifting it up to take a closer look. It was a light blue crystal-shaped item, with a few jagged edges. It had a nice weight to it, too. "Is this... ore what I think it is?" Liz asked me.

"You got it," I nodded. "That's the metal we were looking for. Only had to nearly kill ourselves from a fall to get it, too. My guess is, you mentioned the dragon eats crystals, right? They probably turn into that ore in its stomach."

"Good job finding it," she told me. "But what's it doing down here, though?"

I grinned a little sheepishly. "Well, I'm pretty sure that this hole isn't a trap like we thought. I think it's the dragon's nest."

"Its nest?" she yelped. "R-really?"

"Really," I confirmed. "And, uh, that's not just an ingot. That was made in the dragon's stomach, so... that's probably dragon excrement." She looked at me blankly. "Um... would the word poop make it clearer?"

"Huh? Oh..." Liz hummed in thought as she stared at the dragon poop ingot in her hand. I think it took a second for her sleepy brain to parse what I just told her, but I could see the flicker of recognition when she did. "Agh!" she exclaimed, suddenly fumbling the ingot and barely catching it.

I leaned back on my haunches. "Well, looks like we got what we were looking for. Problem is, while we are no longer sans metal we're still sans exit."

Liz frowned, tapping her chin. "Wait. This is supposed to be a dragon's nest, right?"

"'s what I said."

"Dragons are nocturnal, though, and it's almost sunrise. It shouldn't be long before it comes..."

She trailed off as we both craned our necks back to stare at the small circle of sky.

I don't know what she's worried about, it's perfectly clear!

...With a black dot in the sky.

...That is very rapidly getting bigger and closer and _oh gods it's the dragon and it's roaring at us_.

"It's here!" Liz shouted.

I bit my lip. This could end really badly, especially since in such a closed arena there was nowhere for Liz to hide.

But what if she didn't need to hide? What if we didn't fight?

The thought flashed through my mind in a burst of inspiration and I acted on it in a flash; that's how all my best plans came to me. Just a solution, popping into existence like it had always been right there. With a light grunt I grabbed Liz and hoisted her over my shoulder. "Hold on!" I shouted.

"Wha-what are you doing?!"

"This might get bumpy!" I felt her grab on to my armor and I moved as the dragon plunged into its nest, intent on attacking the intruders.

As it flew down, I jumped for the wall. The instant my boots had traction I pushed off again, my Nightblade shining in my hand. The dragon's leg loomed in front of me and I let out a grunt of exertion as I stabbed forward, the point of my dagger piercing through the thinner scales I'd aimed for and digging into the meat of the leg.

The dragon let out a screech and launched itself into the air, spiraling in the air to remove the thorn that had stung it. I clung grimly to my dagger, hoping that I'd guessed right and that this thing was our ticket out of the pit. The fact that we were going up instead of being splattered across the wall was a good sign, but I needed to make sure that we didn't fall, or that I didn't drop Liz, or that my dagger didn't come loose, or any other fail state.

Liz was screaming, and I called back, "We're almost there! Hang on just a little longer, Liz!" but I'm not sure she heard me.

When the dragon was high enough in the air that I couldn't see the pit anymore, my dagger suddenly slid loose, confirming my suspicion that it'd been scripted to stick in the leg. As X'rphan flew off in the distance, roaring sullenly, Liz and I started free-falling.

It was a beautiful sight, seeing the rising sun peeking over the snow-capped mountains. Beside me, Liz was falling with her arms spread wide and the wind rushing through her fluffy hair, bringing the blood to her cheeks. "Wow, look at that!" she shouted, and I grinned at her. "Hey, Rythin! You know what?!"

I blinked. "No, what?!"

She shouted something I couldn't quite make out. It might have been important, but I wasn't sure.

"What did you say?!" I shouted over the roaring of the rushing wind, picking up now that we'd actually started falling. "I can't hear you!"

She just laughed brightly and hugged me tightly. "Never mind!" she laughed.

Weird.

* * *

"A one-handed long sword, right?" Liz asked me, back in the forge part of her blacksmith shop.

I folded my arms as I looked around curiously. "Yeah," I said. "Give it your best, right?"

"Right!"

Liz had changed back into her work uniform, which was the exact same as her salesperson uniform plus a pair of thick work gloves to protect her hands from the forge's fires. I'd never been in a forge before, mainly because I never needed to be, and it looked pretty neat.

The metal ingot we'd retrieved was sitting in the hot coals of the forge, and Liz carefully retrieved it with a pair of tongs. She placed the glowing metal on her anvil and picked up a small hammer before starting to rhythmically pound the metal. She looked hard at work, face tight in concentration, and I was spellbound by watching a professional at work.

The rise and fall of the hammer was captivating, and it was almost a disappointment when the latest hammer blow caused the metal to ring out as it glowed brightly and changed shape. When the glow faded, a long blue sword was resting on Liz's anvil. The hilt looked almost like the crystal Liz had made it out of, and the blade started out wide, tapering as it extended before widening just a bit at the tip.

"Whoa," I murmured as I stared at the blade.

Liz took off her gloves and tapped the blade, activating the Appraisal skill. "The sword is called Dark Repulser," she told me. "One of a kind. And it's not even in the info broker's directory."

I reached out, but paused. "Can I?"

"Go on, try it," she said.

I picked up the blade and grinned. "Well, it's definitely heavy enough for Kirito. The stats are about the same as the Elucidator?" She nodded. I didn't have the ability or sword talent to actually try out the blade, but my instincts were telling me the sword was a good one.

"Well?" Liz asked me. "Good? Bad?"

I grinned as I set the blade back down on the anvil carefully. "Consider me impressed with your skills, Liz. It's a good sword."

Liz cheered, pumping a fist. "Yay!" As I grabbed a sheath and slid the sword into it, I noticed her pressing a hand over her heart.

If Kirito were here, he'd say something cheesy like it felt like her soul was in the blade, or something. "Alright, you've held up your end of the bargain. How much do I owe you?"

"Um, well... I don't really need any... money..." Liz said slowly. I raised an eyebrow. Quite the, ah, radical capitalist scheme, there. She folded her hands over her apron. "I-instead, I'd like to be your exclusive blacksmith from now on," she said in a rush. It must be hot in here, her cheeks were flushed.

"What do you mean exclusive?" I asked, and she hesitated, looking away. "What's up, Liz?"

"I mean...", she said, still looking down, before saying, "anytime you get back from the field, you stop here and let me do maintenance on your gear. Every day, from now to the end!"

I raised an eyebrow. My Nightblade didn't really _need_ repairs every day, but on the other hand if I agreed I didn't need to pay for the sword... Sloth versus Greed, fight!

"Sure," I said with a smile. And the winner is Greed, with a total knock out! "I'll make sure to come by every day to see you." Something in her eyes changed, and I frowned. "Liz?"

"Rythin..." she said softly. "I just... I -" She started to reach out her hand.

The door to the forge slammed open and I turned, automatically groping for my Nightblade as I stepped back. I barely had time to recognize Asuna in her regular uniform as she got to the forge's floor by the simple expedient of simply ignoring the stairs and vaulting over the railing. "Liz!" Asuna gasped. "I was so worried!" She wrapped her friend in a huge hug.

"Asuna?" Liz asked.

"Liz, where were you last night?" Asuna demanded. "I tried messaging you, but you didn't answer and I couldn't track you on the map!" Oh yeah... I'm so used to being incommunicado when I'm out in the field I didn't even think about it.

Liz's smile shifted. "Eh... Sorry. I kinda got stuck in a dungeon."

"A dungeon?" Asuna gasped, letting go of Liz so she could look her friend in the eye, hands on Liz's shoulders. "You went all by yourself?"

"Uh-uh," Liz shook her head. "I went with him," she said, pointing at me.

Asuna turned, confused, and locked eyes with me. I froze with a small smile on my face. Please, spare me your wrath... "R-Rythin?" she exclaimed, stepping back in shock.

"H-hey, Asuna," I said, trying to go for casual. "Been a while... like, two days?"

"You didn't say you were coming to check this place out so soon," she said. "I wish you would have told me, I could have come with you!"

Liz looked back and forth between me and Asuna. "Wait, I'm sorta confused. You two know each other?"

"Yeah," I said. I think my voice didn't tremble too much. "Both of us are on the assault team, so..."

Asuna smiled at me. Liz's eyes widened in surprise. "Rythin said he was getting a friend of ours a present for teaching him earlier in the game," she said, careful to keep her voice neutral when regarding Kirito. Jokes on you! I can read you a mile away. "So I told him about you and your shop."

"Oh," Liz said quietly.

Asuna folded her arms and frowned at me. "Why is she acting like that?" she demanded. "I swear, if you did anything weird to her -"

"I didn't!" I hurried to say. "I didn't d-do anything!"

"Then why'd you stutter just then, huh?" she asked playfully. Oh, crap.

Now, if I've learned anything while chatting with Asuna and Argo, it's that these girls will tease me relentlessly if I give them so much as a shred of opportunity. So deflect, deflect, deflect. "You know, you could try to show a little more compassion," I told her. "I almost died!"

"Like that's my fault!" Asuna exclaimed. "I keep telling you not to fight solo, and then you go and do it anyway!" I just rolled my eyes, and Asuna turned to Liz with a sunny smile. "If this guy said anything rude, you'd tell me, right?"

I frowned. Liz looked almost depressed as she looked off to the side. I wonder what's wrong. "Liz?" Asuna asked gently. Looks like she guessed there was something wrong too.

"You wanna talk about rude, try this," Liz said, grinning and waving a hand. I frowned a little harder - she was faking it really, really hard. Like, _really hard_. She was incredibly upset and I didn't know why. "First thing he does when he comes in is shatter my best sword!"

"What?!" Asuna exclaimed. Erk. "I'm sorry!" she said, pressing her hands together in apology.

"Oh, come on, you don't have to apologize for anything," Liz said with a small laugh. She leaned in close to Asuna and whispered something in her ear, and I tilted my head. Wonder what she's saying?

Whatever it was, it must have been embarrassing, because Asuna blushed and turned on Liz as the pink-haired blacksmith started hurrying for the door. "But I told you, it's not like that! Liz?"

"Sorry, I have to go pick up some supplies," she said. I could hear pain in her voice. "I'll be right back.

Asuna blinked. "But... you're gonna leave the store?"

Liz paused at the top of the steps. "Hold down the fort for me. Later!" she said cheerily before turning and running out of the forge.

"Wha? No, wait, Li-" Asuna tried to say before she was interrupted by the door closing. "Oh..."

I frowned. "Asuna, I'll... I have to go. See you."

"Rythin, wai-"

And then the door closed behind me. Sorry, Asuna, I'll make it up to you later.

By the time I made it out of the shop, Liz was nowhere to be found. Let's see, I need to find her, so... Friends List? She's not on my Friends List, which means I can't use Searching or Tracking either... Ugh, why is this so difficult? I could just let this go and hope she gets over whatever was bothering her. But at the same time, I couldn't get that image of her running out of the shop out of my head. It just sat there and gnawed at me.

I scanned the horizon before spotting a tall bell tower in the city, and I started heading that way. If I didn't run into her on the way, I could probably find her by searching there. Lindas wasn't that big a town, after all, and it didn't have sewers. There were only so many places someone could hide if they didn't want to be found.

Unfortunately, I didn't run into Liz while I was heading towards the tower, but it didn't take long for me to scale the thing and get a good view of the city. Let's see, if I were trying to deal with emotions, I wouldn't be in a place with a lot of people privy to said emotions... I'd find a place that was empty and alone and probably would be for a while. That crosses off pretty much every street and marketplace, but that still gives me a lot of ground to search.

Even with crossing off half of the town right away, it took until dusk before I caught sight of a familiar head of pink hair. She was in a park, huddling near a bridge, and I hurried to where she was, hoping to catch her before she disappeared on me again. When I got there, she had her head buried in her knees, arms folded across her head, and I frowned a little bit. Whatever happened, she was upset enough to... Well, whatever. "Lisbeth," I said gently as I approached.

A small scuffle of grass was my answer as she got to her feet slowly. "I almost got away with it," she said brokenly without looking at me. "A couple more minutes?" She turned to look at me, and I was shocked to see tears welling in her eyes. She... That bothered me, that she was crying. "I would have been back to my usual old cheerful self," she said, wiping at her eyes.

"Liz, I..."

"How'd you know I was here?"

Silently, I turned and pointed at the bell tower. Her eyes followed my finger. "I looked from up there. It's got a pretty good view."

She smiled weakly. "Figures you'd do something crazy like that." I didn't answer, and she wandered over to the edge of the small creek. "Sorry if I worried you. I'm fine now," she told me, her breaking voice betraying the lie. "It must be all the excitement. I'm not used to having adventures." She crouched down by the riverbed. "Anyway... Oh, forget everything... I said... Okay?" she said, hiding her face in her hands. Crap, was she crying again? That's not right...

That's not right. She shouldn't be crying.

"Forget everything you said?" I asked her. "Why?" I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Because I'm... not stupid," she said in-between her sobs. "I can tell..."

"Tell what?"

"Asuna likes you!" she burst out, rising to her feet and looking at me with tears falling from her eyes freely. "You can't be that dense..."

I blinked. "Huh? No, Asuna likes Kirito," I told her. "I'm just her friend. It's a really long story, but we're pretty close, so she acts like that around me from time to time whenever I've done something stupid."

Liz blinked at me, face unreadable, and I tilted my head. "...Okay, yeah, she might have asked me out back in December, but I turned her down. She's moved on to Kirito, trust me. ...And why does that have anything to do with forgetting what you said, though?"

Her lips moved silently as her eyes searched my face. I just wanted an answer.

And then she moved forward, grabbed my shirt, and kissed me fiercely.

What.

...Oh. _Oh._ That's... That's...

What.

A lot of the memories of the last day slid out of place, took about a ninety-degree turn, and slotted into place again. A lot of those things that I said, worried about Asuna finding out I took her friend on a dangerous trip, could be interpreted as me wanting to protect this girl. Her giggling at my terrible jokes. The blush on her cheeks weren't from the cold or the lamplight, they were from being attracted to... me.

What.

She asked to hold my hand because she wanted to feel my warmth, not because she was cold. She wasn't blushing because of the wind, she was blushing because, I'm guessing, she confessed and I didn't hear it. She wasn't surprised Asuna and I knew each other, she was shocked and dismayed because she thought her friend had a crush on me.

Lisbeth had a very serious crush on me right now, and I'd nearly broken her heart without noticing.

Wha- Stop that, brain. Stop that right now.

Wow. Now I feel like a complete shit.

Liz stepped back, letting go of my shirt. I just blinked silently, not entirely sure how to react. "I... S-sorry," she stammered, her voice breaking as she turned to run. "I guess you don't feel the same. I'll-"

"Wait," I said, catching her hand before she could pass me. "Liz… wait."

"Let go!"

"No," I said, keeping a firm grip on her wrist. "I'm not letting you run off again."

She stopped trying to run, even though she didn't look at me, her head hanging low. "Why?" she sobbed. "Why do you have to be like this?"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "It-it's not that I... not that I don't like you, or anything like that, I do like you a lot, Liz. It's just, um... I'm not really _used_ to girls kissing me, and I'm kinda not entirely sure what to do about this whole situation, and... And I'm totally rambling, I'll shut up," I sighed again.

I'm really good at making a fool out of myself, aren't I?

I took a deep breath and got my thoughts in order. "Liz," I said gently, "I don't _know_ how to deal with this sort of thing. You're very pretty, and I won't say I _disliked_ the... the kiss." I looked away, not really able to look at her even if she wasn't looking at me. "Maybe... maybe we start as friends, for now. Stay close, talk, get lunch and dinner a few times. See what grows from there. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"If I let go, are you going to run?"

Liz giggled weakly. "No, I'm not. You'd probably be able to catch me anyway, right?" Well, she wasn't wrong.

After I let go, she turned to smile at me. She was still crying a little bit, but it felt different. Like, a different kind of tears, maybe. Happy tears. "Hey, Rythin?" she asked me as we started walking back towards her shop.

"Mm?"

"Wanna get some dinner later? After I close up shop."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Sure. I'm paying, though, since you gave me a sword for free. I think it's a good down payment, right?"

Liz giggled. I kept walking before realizing that she'd stopped a few steps back. When I turned, I was treated to the sight of her standing in the middle of the street, cheerfully doing a little happy dance. I stared. She realized I was staring, stopped dancing and stared at me. We stared at each other.

She resumed her happy dance.

After she finished dancing, Liz reached out with her hand. This time, I didn't give her the chance to stop halfway and took it with mine, twining our fingers together.

"Hey, Rythin?"

"Yeah, Liz?"

"Would you mind helping me out in the shop from time to time? I mean, as an assistant. When you're not busy on the front lines."

"...Sure, why not."

"You'd have to wear a uniform, though."

"...Sure, why not."

"...It'd be identical to my uniform."

"...Sure, why wait what."

Liz giggled. "I think you'd look really cute in a skirt!"

"Liz, Liz no. Liz why are you giggling like that. Liz stop."

"But Rythin," she whined.

I frowned and rolled my eyes. "You're cute, but you're not _that_ cute."

She grinned at me. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"

Then she _smiled_. ...Wow. I think my heart skipped a beat, actually. "And thanks, Rythin. For everything."

"...Yeah." I stopped, organizing my thoughts. "And, Liz? Thanks. For everything."

* * *

 **Our favorite hero Rythin, being cheerfully oblivious about girls like he always is. I feel like Liz deserves better.**

 **Anyway, yeah, surprise, this route's not anything special; just the canon episode with Rythin in place of Kirito. That's why it's the full thing instead of just a part; despite the length, it's not** _ **really**_ **innovative enough to justify wasting two updates on Liz's route. I looked into shortening things into maybe an omake of sorts, but that didn't work either; and then in the end I decided 'Screw it, this is just me screwing around to get back on the horse, so I don't even care.' Sorry, Liz. It's just an experiment to see what would happen if Rythin were in Kirito's place that day.**

 **The biggest difference comes in the bridge crying scene, and that's where the two of them actually talk. I think that it came out well, don't you? Rythin suddenly realizing exactly how oblivious he's been is probably my favorite part of the scene. You have to admit, though, once he realizes he's been a jerk without actively intending to be a jerk, he tries to make things right. Which, in this case, pretty much boils down to 'Yeah, you're cute, but I'm insecure so let's take it slow' except hidden under several layers of Rythin-speak.**

… **Also, no matter what continuity, Liz wants to see Rythin in a skirt. This is, like, a law of nature or something. (She'd also accept Kirito in a skirt, once she meets the guy.)**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**


	5. Route: Leafa

**Route: Leafa**

* * *

 **January 19th, 2025**

I was dreaming.

Part of me knew that, but at the same time enough of me was trapped by the dream that I had no choice but to sit back and watch as I dreamed.

I was standing (I was watching) on the battlefield of the 75th Floor's boss, confronting Kayaba. I struggled (I watched my struggle) against the paralysis locking every muscle in my body, forcing my Nightblade into a guard one more time after being knocked down. This was it. (I watched as my eyes grew hard.) I was going to kill Kayaba or die trying. Letting out a shout, I (my body) flew forward, dagger swinging in a wicked curve at Kayaba's neck.

I stopped (My body froze) and I coughed, confused. I didn't know why, but the paralysis had finally frozen me. Kayaba looked at me with careless eyes before he drew back his sword and thrust into my heart-

-I blinked my eyes, finally waking up. Groaning, I rolled over and closed my eyes again, trying to get back to sleep. Still, I rubbed at my chest absently, confirming that my dream had been just that, a dream, and I wasn't dead. Ugh... I'd started exercising every night until I was exhausted, and that _still_ wasn't enough to send me into a fully dreamless sleep. They weren't offensive, so much as they were tedious. Yes, subconscious, I died in my fight against Kayaba, I get it, stop bringing it up.

I snoozed for another half hour before my phone alarm finally went off, forcing me to get up to silence the buzzing. Once I was up, of course, I wasn't going to go back to bed, so I booted up my PC and stumbled downstairs sleepily to make myself breakfast. My cat was sleeping at the foot of my bed, and I gently stroked him as I passed. Breakfast, then on to wasting my time on the computer doing nothing useful. It's so strange, having nothing to do...

Three hours later, I pushed back from my desk and stretched. Noon, time to eat. And then... I shook my head, sighing. Great. Now I've depressed myself. Well, I have to keep moving, or I'll stop and never start again, so let's go, Nick.

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich was enough for lunch. I'd eat a big dinner, but for now I needed to be alert and awake. I couldn't just eat an entire plate of food for every meal, even if I _was_ bad at making normal human-sized meals. I don't know why, I just can't guess proportions correctly. It's either too little or too much, and Argo never fails to tease me about it.

Thinking of my sister in all but blood reminded me to check my phone for messages, and I winced when I realized that I'd missed a few increasingly inappropriate messages from Argo. She _knew_ I was asexual, why was she asking for my opinion on her new underwear?

Ugh. _Family_. I'd say you can't choose them, but... I kinda did, so...

I sighed again when I realized I was just distracting myself from the main activity of the day, and I did my level best to continue ignoring it even while riding the bus that would take me to the hospital. Kazuto would be arriving at the hospital soon, judging by the time my phone was displaying, and I didn't want to be too late. A little bit was okay, since it would give him time alone, but too much would be rude.

I wanted to see Asuna too, after all.

* * *

I knocked lightly on the door. Despite my restraint, I was busy restraining the roiling fury inside me. Sugou, you _will_ pay for this. I don't know how, and I don't know when, but I will make sure you pay three times over for every ounce of pain Kazuto and Asuna are going through.

"Coming!" a young female voice called out. It took a few more seconds of waiting, but I heard the lock click and the door opened. "Can I help you?"

Ah, this must be the sister. She was young, a year younger than Kazuto if I'm remembering correctly, and it showed; her face still had a touch of the childish roundness to it, though she still looked pretty. Her hair was short and black, the bangs stopping just above her dark grey eyes with two barrettes on each side holding some hair back. Of course, there were a few parts of her that were... less childish. In pretty much every way, she didn't look like Silica, let's just go with that. Yeah, that's the safest way to describe Suguha Kirigaya.

"Hi," I said with a small wave. "I'm a friend of your brother's."

Her eyes narrowed as her eyes scanned me. I merely smiled back placidly. "Are you Nick?" she asked finally.

Wow, does Kazuto only have one friend, if she guessed me right away? Or, maybe it had to do with the fact that I was probably his only American friend. "That's me," I said. "I was just checking up on him, making sure he was doing okay."

"Why wouldn't he?"

I shrugged. "He got some... bad news this afternoon," I admitted. "I'm not sure he took it well, so I was just checking up on him before I went home."

Suguha looked me over again, and I noticed her muscles this time. She was an accomplished kendo practitioner, if I'm remembering properly, and her sweatshirt couldn't hide everything. "Yeah," she said finally, "I think he's okay." Something flashed in her eyes. "He's in his room now. Thanks for looking out for my brother."

I grinned lightly and turned to leave. "See you around, Kazuto's sister," I said.

"My name's Suguha," she said abruptly. I looked back to see her watching me.

I grinned. "See you around, Suguha," I repeated, and she smiled slightly before closing the door.

Well, that went well, I think.

Naturally, when I told Argo about my interaction with Suguha later that evening over our more-or-less nightly video call, she jumped on the chance to tease me. "Ooh, tryin' ta steal the little sister?" she asked me, grinning widely. "Naughty, naughty, Ry. Yer s'posed to get the big brother's permission first."

"It's not like that," I told her patiently. I don't know why she was so dead set on getting me a girlfriend. She'd confessed her love for me back in Aincrad, but when I turned her down she took it gracefully and decided, Argo-style, to stick around and keep bugging me. Hence, my sister in all but blood. "Kirito got some bad news this afternoon, and she answered the door when I knocked."

"What kinda bad news?" Her eyes gleamed with worry. "Asuna's okay, right?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Nothing happened with her physically," I admitted. "But... her parents are marrying her off to some friend of the family or something like that."

Argo snorted. "Sucks."

"And," I sighed, "to make things worse, that friend of the family is some smug asshole that more or less bragged straight to my face that he knew why Asuna wouldn't wake up. I mean, seriously. ...Argo?"

Something in her face had changed when I mentioned Sugou's bragging. "Ry," she said seriously, "I'm gonna send ya some pics. Don't freak out, 'kay?"

"I don't want your underwear pictures, Argo."

"I'm serious, Nick," she said, and my eyes narrowed. Kana? "I'm sendin' 'em now."

The download popped up and I waited a few seconds before opening them up. "Screenshots?" I asked her as I scanned them.

She nodded. "Yeah, from th' new game called ALfheim Online. 'S like SAO, only with magic and flight. I heard it uses the Cardinal engine, too."

"Mm." I flicked through the images Argo sent me and stopped on the last one.

A lot of time, people say 'it felt like my heart skipped a beat' when they're startled, and it always sounds stupid. They were just surprised or scared, that's all. It was common enough in my books that I'd always wondered what it felt like.

Now I knew.

My chest suddenly hurt as my body spasmed in a full-body twitch. For a second, I couldn't breathe, and my vision started tunneling as I stared at the blown-up image in front of me. Then my heart started pounding like a scared rabbit's, and I gritted my teeth. "What is this." It wasn't a question.

"Images from the game," Argo said. "The main challenge of the game, I've heard, is tryin' ta climb this massive tree in the center a' the map. Nobody's made it so far, so a group of players stacked themselves up and tried to climb the outside. They didn't make it, but they managed to snag a few screencaps before they fell down. And this was on one of the branches."

I gritted my teeth, willing my heart to calm down. The image that had done this to me was a simple image of a massive tree branch, and while I have issues with walking trees that wasn't what had done it. No, that was because there was a massive golden cage sitting nestled between a fork of the branch. Inside, there was a woman in light airy clothing sitting down, with long honey-brown hair that spilled down her back. "Asuna," I breathed.

"Yeah," Argo said. "I wasn't sure, so I didn't bring it up, but ya might wanna check that out. I'd confirm it myself, but I don't have the cash to buy an AmuSphere and I couldn't manage to worm a NerveGear out of the clutches of the government like you."

I nodded once. "Thanks, Kana. Really." She smiled prettily, and I returned it with a grin. "I have to make some calls now, so I'll talk to you later."

"Later, Ry."

"I..." _love you, sis_ , is what I didn't say, instead just pressing my lips together firmly and sighing.

By the way her lips twitched, she heard the words anyway. "Love ya, dork," she said before the video connection closed.

Now, to call Agent Kikuoka while I go buy a copy of ALfheim Online...

* * *

 **January 22nd, 2025**

I yawned as I walked through the hospital's front door, trying to pretend I was more or less awake. Kazuto and I had decided to go visit Asuna earlier today, so that we could get back into ALO as soon as possible; the servers had been shut down late last night for maintenance and they would be up around noon. We were in Alne, right below the World Tree, and there was no way we were going to stop when we were this close.

Really, though, we were lucky Kazuto had managed to run into Leafa, a blonde Sylph that knew the game like the back of her hand. She'd decided to tag along with the two of us as we headed for the World Tree, for whatever reason, but it would have taken us a lot more than just one night to reach Alne otherwise.

Still, that meant I got about six hours of sleep before heading out to the hospital again.

Kazuto, waiting for me in the lobby, seemed equally as tired as I felt. What was more of a surprise was that Suguha was standing here with him. "The sister again," I said with a smile. "Hello again, Suguha."

"Hello, Ni-" she started to say before being interrupted by a huge yawn. "...Hello, Nick," she said, blushing a little bit.

Kazuto looked back and forth between me and his sister. "I didn't know you two knew each other."

"I told you yesterday," Suguha told him. "He stopped by on Sunday."

"O-oh, that's right," he said. "Sorry, I've been really focused on something else."

Suguha just sighed. "You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached. Honestly," she grumbled. Kazuto just chuckled weakly and scratched at his cheek.

"Well, now that everyone's here, why don't we go visit Asuna?" I said, easily pretending like I wasn't the last one to arrive.

The elevator ride to Asuna's floor was a quiet ride; the Kirigaya siblings were each wrapped deep in their own thoughts, and I saw no reason to start a conversation. The silence soothed me.

Eventually we reached the twelfth floor and from there Asuna's room. Suguha studied the nameplate. "Asuna...Yuuki... She used her real-life name for her avatar. That's not something a lot of people do."

Kazuto turned to her in shock. "I can't believe you know that." I raised an eyebrow. From what I remember Kazuto telling me, Suguha wasn't much of a gamer. In fact, I specifically remember him saying that she hated gamers. So how did she know this obscure little etiquette rule regarding avatar names? Kazuto clearly hadn't told her about it. "Asuna's the only person I ever met who played under her real name."

Once we went inside, I went to my accustomed spot in the corner, sitting down in the chair and plugging in my laptop. I didn't open it right away, pulling out my book instead; I wanted the program I'd been working on to be a surprise for Kazuto.

"I'll introduce you," Kazuto said. He and Suguha were standing at the foot of the bed. "This is Asuna. Knights of the Blood, second in command." He was proud of her. For that matter, I was proud of her. "They call her Lightning Flash. I could never match her speed in battle, or her accuracy with a sword."

I looked up. "That's because you went for strength. For all that I was a speed build, neither could I. She was in a league of her own."

"Shut up, Nick," Kazuto shot back without looking - he had learned well. I snickered and returned to my book. He raised a hand, gesturing to Suguha. "Asuna, this is my sister Sugu."

Suguha stiffened. "Uh, hello Asuna. Nice to meet you." The two siblings went over to the side of the bed. "She's really pretty... I feel sorry for her that she hasn't woken up yet." I bit my lip to keep control; there was no point in getting angry at Sugou when he wasn't even in the room. He would get his soon enough, I was going to make sure of that.

Kazuto didn't respond, and Suguha turned away. I noticed the pain in her eyes, and understood why she had come. I'd noticed it the other day, when I met her and mentioned Kazuto, but hadn't said anything; she was in love with her brother. It was almost Shakespearean in how things were working out; she loved Kazuto, but he loved Asuna, who was still asleep. She had come today to meet Asuna in person, to know just who'd managed to steal her beloved's heart. She must have been suffering...

Suguha silently picked up the vase of flowers and went over to the sink. I followed her silently and watched her refresh the flower's water. "Suguha, would you mind giving me and Kazuto some privacy? There's something I want to show him that would be best if we were alone." I didn't want her to know about Yui, for some reason. My instincts told me it was a bad idea, and I followed the warning my subconscious gave me.

Suguha nodded shakily. "Y-yeah. It would probably be best if I wasn't in the room right now." She was probably sobbing inside, and it would be best to get away from the source of her grief.

"Thank you."

The door slid open and shut behind her. I took the vase of flowers and replaced them on the desk beside Asuna's prone form. Kazuto seemed to snap out of his trance. "Where'd Sugu go?"

"She stepped out for a bit," I replied. He honestly had no idea what he was doing to the poor girl. Not that I cared; until it caused him pain, it didn't bother me. "I do have something I want to show you, so this is a good time, I guess." I went over to my laptop and opened it, unmuting the volume.

"What's that for?" Kazuto asked.

I didn't answer him right away, instead unplugging the laptop and bringing it over to the bed. "Hey kiddo, time to wake up."

Yui appeared on the screen with a small yawn. "Good afternoon, Uncle. What's going on?"

"There's someone here to see you." I turned the screen around to show her the surroundings.

Kazuto stared at me. "You did this?"

I shrugged. "I was bored, so sue me." I grinned at his dumbfounded expression. "Yeah, this is what I've been working on for two months."

I left the room to give the family some privacy. This was the first time Yui had seen her mother and father in the real world, so I wanted them to be able to remember the moment without my presence. As I exited the room, I looked around for Suguha. I didn't see her, so I calmly took a seat against the wall and sat on the floor, thinking.

According to Kazuto, Suguha hadn't ever shown any interest in games. If I had to guess, it was probably the opposite; Kazuto had used games as an escape route once he learned the truth about his family, and she probably held a grudge against the games that had stolen her step-brother from her. It was hardly a stretch of the imagination. And yet, she knew that you weren't supposed to use your real name in the avatar name. What had changed?

Aside from the possibility that Kazuto had told her, which had been thoroughly been smashed thanks to my friend's surprise, I could only imagine that she'd started paying attention to games. So, self, why should she do that? Well, self, that was because of the SAO incident. That was the only recent catalyst that could drive someone to change a militant stance like that, especially backed up with anger.

So, Suguha had started playing games because of SAO and her step-brother. But not just any games; multiplayer games. That was probably because of SAO's status as a VRMMO. If that really was her reason for starting to play games, it would make sense that she would want to try out another VRMMO to see what exactly Kazuto found so addicting. And what recent VRMMO had just become hugely popular?

ALO.

My eyes narrowed. Suguha was playing ALO, it seemed. For that matter, she did seem as tired as Kazuto when I met them in the lobby. She was probably up late playing the game; there were always subtle signs in the way people moved. Even if they were used to hiding their exhaustion, like Suguha obviously was, there were small tells in their body language - duller eyes, hesitation in speaking, things like that. Suguha didn't know Kazuto and I were playing ALO either, or she would have said something. An interesting discovery.

For that matter, Leafa had said something possibly connected to this issue the other night. She had mentioned that Kazuto and I were acting similar to 'her brother and his friend'. Was it possible that Leafa was really Suguha? It was a remarkable stretch of logic and of coincidence; what were the chances that Kazuto would have glitched and been transported near Leafa's position when he logged in? It made no sense. Unless...

Unless the two were logged in at the same time from the same place, and the system got confused. If the Cardinal system logged two separate players from the same IP address joining the server and thought they were the same player, it would make sense that Kazuto had been transported.

I chewed at my lip, watching as the mental puzzle pieces fell neatly into place. It answered most of the questions I'd encountered so far, and probably a few that I hadn't even thought of yet. I'd have to confirm my suspicions, but it was a good bet I was right.

Suguha was Leafa.

I sent Kazuto a quick message to let him know I was going to wander a bit before heading off in search of Suguha. She would have stayed on the same floor, most likely... I wandered the halls until I encountered what looked like a lounge, with large windows looking out over the city. Suguha was standing by the window, silently staring outside with one hand resting on the glass.

As I approached, she turned at the sound of my footsteps before turning back to the view. "Oh... Hi, Nick."

"Suguha," I said in greeting as I joined her at the window, staring out at the city. "...I'm giving your brother some space," I said after a few seconds of silence built. "But the view is worth it, I think."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I always like looking up at the sky, wondering what it's like to fly."

My eyes flicked over to her, but it wasn't enough for me to confirm my suspicions. How was I going to get confirmation?

...Fuck it, I was tired. Straightforward it is. "Are you Leafa?"

"Wh-what? Am I... H-how?" The reaction alone would have given me the answer, even if she tried to deny it. "Wait... Oh my god," she said suddenly, staring at me with wide eyes. "Oh my god."

"Hello," I said again, sketching out a small bow like I had when introduced to her on that underground bridge. "It's nice to meet you again."

She shook her head, pressing her hands to her mouth. "But... but if you're... Then that means..." Abject horror and heartbreak filled her eyes, and I winced. She had been trying to forget her brother by forcing herself to fall in love with Kirito, if my guess was right, and this had to have been the rudest awakening possible. "N-no," she whispered brokenly.

"I am sorry," I said as gently as I could manage. "But yes. Kirito and Kazuto are the same person."

She broke down, then. Her sobs sounded like they were torn from her, and it sounded so very, very painful.

With nothing I could do, I left her to her grief and withdrew silently. There was nothing anyone could do, now.

I just hoped she didn't hate me for forcing her to confront the truth.

* * *

"I'll admit," I said softly. "I'm surprised you helped us. Especially after what I said this afternoon."

Leafa stood on the platform leading to the World Tree, staring out at the sky and floating chunks of rock and nothing else in-between. It was just the two of us; Kirito had ducked out to go get dinner, or something. Leafa said she wasn't hungry, and I had eaten a big lunch when I got back, so we were just waiting for him. "You two needed my help, and I said I'd give it to you," she said finally.

I looked at her, my mind conjuring the image of a weeping Suguha and superimposing it on the proud blonde Sylph standing in front of me until I blinked and it vanished. "You're a good person, Leafa," I said finally. "Better than I am."

She didn't reply.

"And... for what it's worth," I said, "I really am sorry."

"Thanks," she said. "For what it's worth."

Man, girls could say fuck you in the most innocuous of ways.

"But you don't give yourself enough credit, Rythin," she said. I raised an eyebrow, and she turned to look at me, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she smiled. "I really am glad you told me, this afternoon. You could have just kept quiet and let me keep thinking I had a chance, but you didn't. So... thanks. It's given me a chance to move on." Huh? I guess...

"You're welcome, I guess," I said uncertainly. "Are... you sure?"

"Mm-hm!" she nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Well, that's good.

"Leafa?" The new voice made me turn around. A Sylph boy with a bowl cut was standing in front of Leafa; he had somehow managed to sneak up on the two of us while we were talking. To be honest, I had no idea how I had managed to miss him; that bright green hair wasn't exactly meant to blend in with the background. Leafa jumped back and stifled a gasp, startled by his sudden appearance. Evidently, the two knew each other. He laughed awkwardly. "Er, hi. You know, I've been looking all over for ya."

Leafa took a step back, hands up. "Wait, what are you doing here? I thought the Salamanders caught you." Ah, so this was that Recon player she had mentioned earlier. The one she knew in person.

Recon straightened up and threw out his chest. "Yeah, well, I sorta poisoned them all and escaped." Heh. Poison was always fun to use. I briefly glanced at the sheath on my arm; I missed the Nightblade. It was the symbol of all I had gone through in Aincrad, and I wanted it back. Besides, it was a good weapon.

"No way, you poisoned them?" Leafa sounded like she couldn't believe what he said.

"Big time. And after I got away, I tracked you here." Because that wasn't creepy at all, no sir. I watched the two Sylphs interact with a small smile on my face. Other people could be such a great source of amusement. "Hang on, what are you doing here with a Cait Sith? Where's that Spriggan?"

I winced as Leafa's face fell. "It's... It's a long story," she said, "but he didn't turn out to be who I thought he was, and who I wanted him to be." Ouch. She rubbed at her eyes and smiled. "I'll be okay, I think. I just have to finish this thing first."

"Don't cry like that..." Recon whispered. Suddenly, he dashed off of the plateau and down the steps. "Wait!" Curious, I moved over the the top the steps and leaned against the railing. He grabbed Leafa's hands in his and stared into her eyes. "You shouldn't be crying like that!" I was fairly certain I knew where the scene was about to go, and I took a closer look at Recon. Sure enough, he had a light redness to his cheeks.

"Uh...sorry?" Leafa stammered. She had no idea what was happening; something I took great pleasure in. This was going to be amusing.

"The Leafa I know is always smiling and happy!" Recon cried. His voice was starting to grate on my nerves, but it was nothing I couldn't handle thanks to Argo. "And I...well, I'd never leave you like that!" I started chuckling. Poor kid picked a bad time. "I'd stay with you always, in here and the real world!" Leafa took a step back, going up a step on the stair. Recon followed her. "I...I...Leafa..." He looked away. "I mean, Suguha... I love you!"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing to myself. It probably wasn't the nicest thing for me to do when someone just confessed their love, but I was a jerk like that.

Leafa gasped. "You what?" Recon leaned in for a kiss, but Leafa was having none of that. "Wait, don't do that! No, what are you doing?!" With a shout, she slammed her fist into Recon's stomach, sending him flying down the steps. He landed poorly and tumbled down until he landed in a heap at the bottom of the steps.

I walked down next to Leafa. "That was harsh. Poor kid."

"Shut up, Rythin." Evidently, something had changed and Leafa was relatively back to normal. At least, she was able to respond to my sarcasm correctly - after associating with me long enough, everybody developed one of two traits. Either they were able to shrug off almost anything or they were able to give as good as they got. Just my little way of helping the world. "Are you okay?" she called down.

I studied his crumpled figure. "I think the coughing and struggling to stand suggests otherwise."

Eventually, Recon staggered back up the steps, groaning. "Where did I go wrong?" Leafa glared at him, hands on her hips.

"You picked Leafa," I informed him without hesitating. Leafa transferred her glare to me, and I snickered. It was good to know that I could still get away with insults, so long as they were relatively benign.

"After everything I've said and done, I thought I just had to find the guts to confess my feelings to you," Recon moaned. Poor kid was probably a few seconds away from crying.

"You really are a moron, aren't you?" asked Leafa with a sigh.

"Given that he just confessed to you, I'd say so," I remarked. Her question might have been rhetorical, but I couldn't pass up a perfect opening like that.

"Rythin," Leafa growled, and I just grinned lightly. "Recon," she said, "sorry. But... I've got someone else that I'm interested in right now, so it won't work out." Oh? Who is she talking about? There's nobody else that I'm aware of, now that Kirito and Kazuto have come out to be the same person. "Even so, Recon, I could learn a thing or two from you. Thanks."

I just rolled my eyes.

* * *

 **January 23rd, 2025**

I always hate waking up, since sleeping is so much more peaceful, but I've now woken up in a hospital bed two more times than I really wanted to, in the grand scheme of my life.

"Mn..." I moaned. Well, my throat's horrible, but I feel okay. Or maybe that's the painkiller I'm assuming they're giving me. Either way, my chest doesn't hurt when by all rights it really should.

Fuck Sugou. I hope he suffers.

I scanned the room, squinting to see if that would help with my near-sightedness. Things firmed a little bit as I looked around. I was in a solo room like the one that Asuna had, which made sense given that I was in the same hospital as Asuna right now. The curtain on the side was pulled back, though I couldn't make out if anything was sitting on the sink counter. Continuing on my search, I saw the door, a few chairs, Suguha curled up on a chair, the window, my glasses, a - hey wait, back that up a bit, there.

"Su...Suguha?" I rasped out.

I knew she had been at the hospital with me; I'd stopped by her house to make sure that Kazuto was on his way. After she'd confirmed that he had headed out to visit Asuna, I turned to leave before stopping. 'Hey,' I'd asked her. 'Wanna come with me? It's a long walk, and kinda boring without someone to talk to.' She'd smiled and agreed, grabbing a coat and joining me on the walk to the hospital.

And then we ran into Sugou and I told her to head on inside while I dealt with him, and then I vaguely remember saying hello to Kazuto and Asuna and handing them the laptop with Yui's world before passing out from blood loss. I don't really remember what happened then, because of the aforementioned blood loss making my memories a little fuzzy.

But none of that explained why Suguha was curled up on the couch. Or, well, _had_ been curled up on the couch, because my rough voice seemed to have woken her up. "Mmm..." she mumbled sleepily as she stirred. "Nick? Nick!" she gasped once she focused on me. "You're awake!"

"I've noticed," I said. "Can I have some water?" Oh, yeah, there we go, my everything is now starting to hurt. It's like I'm submerged in a lake full of ice-cold _pain_.

"Of course," she said, hurrying over to the sink and pouring me a glass.

After I'd swallowed a few gulps and my throat no longer felt like it was made of sawdust and broken glass, I asked her, "How long was I out?"

"Only a day," she said. "But... your chest..."

I looked down at my chest to see the heavy bandage wrapping around me. "Eh, whatever," I sighed. "I'll just consider it a battle scar. How're Kazuto and Asuna?"

Her smile, I was glad to see, didn't seem to be marred by disappointment or heartache. "He refused to leave her until Mom got here and dragged him home," she said with a giggle. "Asuna's really nice, I was talking to her while you were asleep."

"She's pretty great, yeah," I nodded. "Probably one of my best friends, along with your brother and Kana."

"Kana?" Suguha leaned forward. "Who's that?"

"Another of my friends," I said. "Oh, hey, Suguha, quick ques-"

"Sugu."

I blinked, a little disoriented. Y'know, from the fairly severe blood loss. "Um. Say what now?"

"Sugu. Call me Sugu." She smiled. "Please?"

I shrugged as well as I was able. "Uh... sure, Sugu. Anyway, quick question, do you know if they left my phone here? I have to make a few calls."

A few months later, the SAO Survivor School had finally started up again, and I was just glad the day was over. Kana and I were in the same class, since we were the same age, and she was the only thing that made these interminable classes bearable. I mean, they weren't even _trying_ to be subtle about the questions to make sure we hadn't gone nuts and wanted to eat human flesh, or something like that. It was actually offending my sensibilities.

But that was besides the point, since Kana and I were heading towards the Dicey Cafe, the bar Agil ran in the real world. It was a nice enough place, with a certain old-school charm to it. I felt like I should have more of an attachment to it, since it was run by someone from America, but I'd grown up in Japan and didn't really consider America anything other than the country where I was born. Sure, I was bilingual, but that didn't really mean anything.

"Hey, glad you two could make it," Agil said as Kana and I entered. "You're just in time."

"See?" Kana poked me in the side. "I told you we should have been here fifteen minutes earlier."

I batted at her offending finger. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're here before the guest of honor, aren't we?"

Everyone else was there already, all of Kazuto and Asuna's friends and allies across Aincrad. A quick glance around the room showed me Sasha, Thinker, and Yulier all chatting by one table, with Liz and Silica chatting off to the side. A few other people were dotted here and there, but since they were either from Klein's guild or Asuna's, I didn't recognize them off the top of my head. Still, it was busy enough that I didn't really want to be there, and quickly snagged a seat at the bar proper.

A thunk told me my regular order was ready. I looked up and grabbed the glass of water, draining half of it in a single gulp. I sighed and grinned. "Thanks, Agil."

He grinned in response. "No problem, man. It's the least I can do for one of the heroes."

My lip curled before I groaned. "Oh god, not you too," I grumbled. "I'm not one of the heroes. I just made selfish actions, and it happened to work out for everyone else coincidentally."

Maybe if I started insulting people that called me a hero, they'd stop it. I didn't want to be recognized or praised, I just wanted people to leave me alone.

Agil chuckled at my response. "Not from how I hear it. Way I've heard it, you took on the World Tree, all to save Asuna. If that isn't hero material, I don't know what is."

"To set the record straight, it was also to get back at Sugou. I hate gossip." I let my head fall back down into my arms. "I might need a stronger drink if this keeps up," I mumbled. Agil chuckled and went back to cleaning off the bar.

Eventually, the noise of people hurriedly preparing decorations died down, to be replaced by the bated silence that preceded a surprise. I sighed and nursed my glass of water.

Suddenly, the door creaked open to reveal Asuna, Kazuto, and Sugu standing there. I was a little surprised to see Sugu since she hadn't been one of the trapped SAO players, but I assumed Kazuto dragged her along. After all, she helped rescue Asuna. At the sight of everyone waiting for them, Asuna giggled and started waving, a huge smile on her face. Kazuto frowned in confusion. "Hold on a sec. Were we supposed to get here earlier?"

Lisbeth rushed up to him and planted her hands on her hips. "We gave you a later time to make sure everyone else got here first. It wouldn't be right for the guest of honor to show up before all the guests." She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. "Don't just stand there, come on in." She dragged him over to the box they had set up. Grabbing a microphone, she started talking. "Okay, let's get this party started. You all know what to do!" She pointed her microphone at the assembled people. "Ready, and...!"

"Congratulations on beating SAO, Kirito!" everyone cried out in unison. Well, mostly unison; my voice was duller and lagged a bit, but that was to be expected. Klein and Silica pulled on their party poppers, sending streamers and confetti flying everywhere - mostly onto Kazuto's head. A banner with the word 'Congratulations!' written on it unfurled behind him; they had done their best to make it resemble the screen on a successful boss kill.

With that, the party got started with a will and everything turned chaotic.

"Hi."

I raised an eyebrow, looking over as Sugu slid into the seat next to me. Her brother and Klein were chatting a little bit down the bar, but it was far enough that I just heard sound and not words. "Hey," I said in greeting.

The two of us chatted for a while about aimless things - how she was doing in school, how I was doing in school, her kendo practice, my karate practice, things like that. And naturally, Kana noticed the fact that I was actively interacting with another human being willingly and had to stick her mousy nose in our business. "Hiya!" she chirped, leaning on my shoulder from behind. I bore her weight stoically, used to this from school.

Sugu frowned at the interruption. "And you are?"

"I'm Kana," Kana introduced herself. "I don't recognize ya, so that must mean yer Kirito's sister, right?"

Sugu nodded a little frostily. I wonder what's got her irritated.

"Gotcha, gotcha," Kana continued. "I guess I should be thankin' ya for lookin' after my obnoxious little brother, then, right?"

I sighed. "Kana, your birthday is after mine. If anything, I'd be your _older_ brother."

"Details," she sang, waving my objection away. "If ya had enough sense to keep yerself safe, then maybe I'd consider it."

"Wait, you two are siblings?" Sugu asked suddenly, looking between us.

I smiled, used to this question already thanks to plenty of confusion at school. "Not by blood," I said. "Or family, technically. We're both only children."

"Ry here latched onto me because he was _so_ lonely," Kana said smugly, ignoring my eye roll. "We call each other brother 'n sister, but we're just best friends."

"Oh," Sugu said, smiling a little bit. I know Kana takes some getting used to, but most people don't swing between frosty and open as quickly as Sugu had. Weird. "In that case, it's nice to meet you."

"Same," Kana said. "Ooh! Sugu, you 'n me need to have a chat."

"Wait, wha-"

"Bye, Ry!" Kana said with a cheery wave as she kidnapped Sugu from right in front of me. I watched as she dragged her over to one of the other tables that was empty and sat down, before starting to say something. Whatever it was, it got both of them invested quickly, because Sugu was leaning forward and talking to Kana within five minutes.

Why is it, after everything I fought and suffered through, after everything I've been forced to do to survive, that seeing those two talking together was one of the most terrifying things I'd ever seen?

In an attempt to ignore my feelings of foreboding, I got up and shifted a few seats down, sitting next to Kazuto. "Hey, Nick," he said as he sipped at a small glass of something brown. I assumed it was just tea, since Agil wouldn't serve a minor alcohol.

"Hey," I returned the greeting. "Hey, Agil," I said, getting the bartender's attention, "how's the Seed doing?"

"It's doing amazing." Agil walked over to a laptop he had sitting on the counter. "We got fifty mirrors already set up." My eyebrows raised; that was quite impressive. "It's been downloaded a hundred thousand times." I had contributed one of those downloads, using the Seed as a new base for Yui's home in our world. It was simpler and easier for her to get around that way - she didn't have to have a hard connection to the game. "And check this out - it has three hundred big-ass servers actually running it."

I grinned. After Kazuto had seen that I was okay and handed me my laptop back, he took the Seed over to Agil and asked him to check it out. Agil had taken one look at it and called me over, figuring I'd like to take a look at it. I did; it turned out to be the framework of a FullDive MMO that Kayaba had developed. It came in a program package called The World Seed, a stripped-down version of the Cardinal System that could run on small servers. I was a little irritated; all of my hard work had just been shown to be redundant, but I didn't care too much. Kayaba had modified the engine so that anyone with access to their own server could download it and easily make their own online worlds. After Agil and I determined it was safe - I gave the code itself the okay and Agil figured the package it came in was safe - Kazuto had us upload to servers across the globe as a free download.

It turned out, that was exactly what virtual MMOs needed to keep the genre going. As for Alfheim Online, the data had been shifted to another company that decided to keep it online and running. True to his word, Kikuoka had recommended me to them and I was hired on as a consultant. I got to help develop the Sword Skills again, testing them and the game to make sure the feeling of Alfheim Online was the same. It helped that the company, Ymir, was using the Seed. In a way, I had become a Beta Tester.

But Alfheim Online wasn't the only world created with the Seed. With the aid of the Seed, everyone from the individual gamers with big dreams to small companies were creating brand-new worlds. The best part of it was that thanks to the Seed, they were all connected to each other. You could create a character in one game and transfer it to a completely different genre when you got bored - something similar to what Kazuto and I pulled off, albeit without the loss of item data. I had recreated Yui's playground, for a lack of a better term, using the Seed, though I restricted access to her and our friends. I had managed to develop a mobile-based method of logging in; that way, Yui could talk to us through our phones. It was all very complicated and I was glad it was done.

I came out of my thoughts as I felt someone standing beside me. I turned to see Sugu smiling at me. "Need something?" I asked her.

"No," she said, "I just wanted to tell you something."

I raised an eyebrow.

Of course, Sugu couldn't make things easy for me. Instead of acting like a normal person, she leaned over and kissed my cheek lightly. What. "Thanks for everything, Nick," she said. "You should come over to our house more often."

What.

I sat there, frozen, as she ran back to join Kana and the other girls at a table.

What.

Sugu... She... If I'm reading this situation right, then she has... On me? I-I mean I guess I'm flattered, but she should... There are better people to...

...Well. That happened.

I realized that behind me, Kazuto had gone very still, and I sighed under my breath. "Agil," I said, addressing the man who was watching me with entirely too much amusement. "I'm pretty sure Kazuto wants to give me the protective big brother speech, and I need to be at _least_ one shot drunker than I currently am to deal with that." I was trying to play it cool, but I could feel my neck and ears burning.

He just laughed and slid a small shot glass down in front of me. I picked it up and downed the clear liquid; I knew it was just water, since he knew I wouldn't drink anything else.

"Alright, Kazuto," I said as I placed the shot glass back on the counter. "Fire away."

He just laughed. "I trust you," he said. "I know you wouldn't do anything to lead Sugu on or hurt her."

"...Thanks, I guess..."

"Besides," he said easily, "if you ever break her heart, she's the one who does kendo, not me. If anything, you have to worry about _her_."

Lovely.

...I can probably slip out, now that everyone's busy...

* * *

 **July 25th, 2025**

I sat back, letting the sun fall on my face. Ah, there really wasn't anything quite like summer, was there? Nice and warm, I didn't have to worry about homework or anything ridiculous like that, and I had a ready-made justification for eating popsicles.

To make things even better, I'd thought I had to deal with some academic trivia, but it turned out Agent Kikuoka was just pulling strings to make me and Kazuto talk to him. So, I naturally turned around and walked out. It was a good thing I brought my swim trunks with me, since I joined the girls by the school pool.

I hadn't known Sugu was afraid of water until she brought it up in regards to one of the quests our friend group was going to attempt later today in Alfheim. The problem was, even putting her face in the water seemed to freak her out, and so Asuna and the other girls decided that since Kazuto had to go to campus, this was the perfect time to teach the younger Kirigaya how to swim.

"Nick!" Sugu called out, and I looked up. "How do I look?" She leaned forward, inviting comment. Her bathing suit was a two-piece bikini in emerald green, matching her favorite color. It, uh, didn't leave much to the imagination, and definitely highlighted the results of many years of kendo practice. If there was a stray ounce of fat on her body, aside from her, uh, chest, I couldn't see it from my seat.

I coughed, shaking my head. "You look good, Sugu," I said. And I meant it, obviously.

As much as I might want to deny Sugu's crush on me, it looked like the intervening months between that day in Agil's cafe and this warm summer afternoon had only made it stronger. Every time I dropped by the Kirigaya house it was like the sun came out or something, because Sugu always made a point of sitting with me and Kazuto while we were working on whatever homework or programming project the two of us were working on. And it wasn't even blatant, either, which would have let me call her out on it. No, she always had some excuse. 'I'm reading a book in my brother's room, isn't that allowed?' or 'I just wanted to watch some TV' or 'Nick, can you watch this show with me? I think you'd like it.' And every time, I let myself go with the flow.

Rr... Women.

The swimming lesson was mostly finished at this point, and Sugu definitely seemed to have gotten the hang of swimming by this point. Not surprisingly, she was good at basically anything athletic. "Come on," she urged. "Take off your shirt and come swimming with us."

I sighed and put away my book, standing up to stretch out the kinks in my back. "I dunno..." I mumbled. "It's not really my thing..."

"Nick," Sugu said, planting her hands on her hips, and I rolled my eyes before obeying her unspoken command.

As soon as I was shirtless and standing up, Sugu grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the pool at a fast clip before letting go and jumping in. By that point, I had too much momentum, and I was forced to take a leap myself before I just gracelessly flopped into the water. It was a choice between get in the water, or get in the water while also making myself look like an idiot. I broke the surface, rubbing water from my eyes, and turned to see Sugu standing behind me, grinning. She took my hand again and led me over to the other girls, and like always I followed her lead.

I'm a hundred percent convinced that Sugu was taking lessons from Kana on how to appeal to me. How else would she be hitting pretty much every single one of my buttons with such unerring accuracy and frequency?

Damn that rat.

To be honest, the only reason I hadn't given in and accepted that maybe, just _maybe_ I kinda sorta felt something not unlike feelings for Sugu similar in a way to the ones that she felt for me was because, well, it was a fun little game that we were playing.

And I didn't _ever_ lose.

...Unless winning meant losing Sugu.

Because I didn't lose _anything_.

* * *

 **Another shorter one, though for the exact opposite of Liz's route. I had to cut out an entire book of material because it didn't change, and I wasn't rewriting Wings of Vengeance just for a little payoff every third chapter. So, we end up with this.**

 **Remember, everything here assumes that the reader is familiar with the source material, so I'm skipping a lot of stuff. Basically, just read Wings of Vengeance and you'll get the gist of the skipped story; I tried to make sure that even if you don't remember I put enough clues in to figure out what was going on and what happened.**

 **As for the story itself, I always have a soft spot for Suguha, just because of the sheer heartbreak she went through in her arc. Poor girl deserved better, and this time I figured I'd give her better. (Or, well, I'd give her Nick? Not sure if that's better or not.) The main divergence that leads to this happened at the very end of Aincrad; Nick considered Kana more of a sister than a love interest, and when she confessed he turned her down gently. From there, she decided that she was sticking around anyway and proceeded to bug him at every opportunity. (By the way, I'm experimenting with her dialogue a bit, toying with the accent she** _ **should**_ **have. Thoughts? It's supposed to read like someone talking really fast and dropping syllables here and there, but does it come across that way?)**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**

 **(Also which one of you jerks made a Trivia page for the Nightblade TV tropes page *shakes fist* (I love you guys don't ever stop))**


	6. Route: Sinon - Part 1

**Route: Sinon – Part 1**

* * *

This was the conversation I wasn't exactly looking forward to. "Argo, we need to talk," I said.

Her cat ears flicked, indicating she'd heard me, but she didn't bother looking up from her menu. So, to make things easier for both of us, I sat down next to her on the hill and leaned back, resting my head in her lap and closing my eyes. Her hand absently started scratching in that _perfect_ spot, and I nearly started purring, my tail tip twitching idly.

My and Argo's relationship wasn't too strange, in my opinion. She had confessed to me back in Aincrad, and I hadn't accepted her feelings. Still, Argo being Argo, she decided that my rejection actually meant 'let's become siblings' and actively worked to shift our relationship to that stage.

Well, I enjoyed having a sister, no matter how annoying she could be at times. We tended to trade off which of us was technically the 'older' sibling, but in this case it was probably going to be her. At least, I felt like I was a little brother, admitting something to his big sister.

"Ugh," she snorted, swiping closed her menu with prejudice. "Idiots, th' lot of 'em. So what's up, Ry?"

"So, I kinda might have made a deal with Kikuoka," I said with my eyes closed. "And I need to transfer my avatar over to a different game for the time being."

Her fingers stopped scritching, and I most definitely didn't whine plaintively and anyone who says otherwise is a lying liar that lies. "A new game, Ry?" she said softly, and I cracked open an eye. "What's up this time?"

Well, she wasn't mad at me, so that was a plus. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing," I said, "but there's been a series of weird deaths associated with a Seed game called Gun Gale Online. Kikuoka wants me and Kirito to log in, take a look around, and make sure that the nutcase claiming responsibility is just that, a nutcase, and not someone who's managed to find a way to turn AmuSpheres lethal."

She blinked, idly smoothing my hair back out of my face with her free hand, and said, "Wow. Tha's a lot ta unpack there."

I grinned as I reached up and patted her cheek fondly. "Basically, Kirito and I are going to kick ass in a first person shooter for a few days and then come back, the end."

Argo snickered. "Uh huh. Sure."

Yeah, sure, from the outside our shared love seems almost romantic, but it's a hundred percent familial.

"Anyway, I think Kirito's telling Asuna about this right now, so -"

"Rythin?"

Erk. Asuna's voice sounded calm and patient, so she was probably really mad at me. ...To be fair to her, she wasn't ever as bad as I liked to pretend she was, and the few times she actually _was_ mad at me I'd definitely earned the scolding. "Coming," I called back, and stood up. "Thanks for being understanding about this, Argo."

"Eh, I c'n always sell yer stuff if ya piss me off."

I paused. "On second thought, maybe Agil..." She swatted at me playfully, and I grinned. She wouldn't sell my items, and I wouldn't ask anyone else to hold them.

Still grinning, I spread my golden wings and soared up to join Kirito and Asuna. I'd need all the good cheer I could get as I walked through the shadow of the Valley of Death. "What's up, kids?" I asked them.

Asuna smiled. "Oh, nothing much. Kirito was just telling me about this job you both accepted from Agent Kikuoka."

I sighed. "Lemme guess, you're upset because we didn't mention it to you before saying yes."

"Rythin, I'm just worried," she said earnestly. "What if that Death Gun guy _is_ real? I don't want either of you to get hurt."

Funny thing about Asuna. She and I, uh, kinda have the same story as Argo... I swear I'm not doing this on purpose, either. Still, my sister found happiness with my brother, and that's what matters to me.

I smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll be fine," I assured her. "Nothing's gonna go wrong."

* * *

"Something went wrong," I muttered in horror. "I am definitely not fine."

Why was it that I still haven't learned to keep my mouth shut around Murphy and his gods-damned law?

"And you can stop laughing any time now," I snarled at Kirito. Who, currently, was doubled over on the ground of the Gun Gale Online spawn zone.

That was mainly because my randomly-chosen avatar, uh...

...I looked like a girl.

Seriously. Long wavy brown hair, petite stature, and a cute round face with full lips and long eyelashes. If I didn't have the, ahem, mechanisms confirming my gender, I would have thought the game glitched and assigned me a female avatar by mistake. My voice even sounded high-pitched.

And then to make things worse, some creepy guy came up and tried to buy my account for what was, if my quick mental conversions were accurate, roughly equivalent to a _fuck ton of money_. That's an official measurement, by the way, or at least it should be. Kinda like one Kirito's worth of damage, or one Argo's worth of information.

Aaaand I'm just distracting myself from the fact that _I look like a girl_. Please, let none of the others find out or I'm never living this down.

"Let's just go," I sighed, starting to walk off without Kirito. The guy looked like a normal human being, which was decidedly unfair. _He_ should be the one looking girly, not me.

"Coming, coming," he said, his voice hoarse from laughing. I scowled at him, and he grinned. "That pout looks good, Rythin. Were you practicing it?"

"I will stab you," I promised him. "Somehow, somewhere, I will find a way to stab you in this game and I will stab you." When he just laughed, I grumbled under my breath before waving my hand around. "So, I guess we need to make a name for ourselves and get What's-his-face's attention. Any ideas?"

"There's that tournament soon," Kirito said. "The Bullet of Bullets, I think it was called."

"Works for me," I shrugged. "Split up until we figure out what we're doing?"

He nodded, and we went our separate ways.

Immediately, I realized I made a rather large-sized mistake. Namely, every time I stopped to look at something interesting, whether it was the overcast sky or the floating shapes and promotions in the city itself, every male player in about a three-yard radius would start whistling and catcalling. Every time it irritated me and I stalked forward.

In the end, though, after the surprise of my girly avatar faded, I didn't care that much. My own self-image was fluid enough that my appearance was just that, my appearance. I had little to no vanity and even less interest in finding a mate. If someone liked me, I wanted them to like me for my personality, not any physical attractiveness.

I wandered down an alley that was thankfully devoid of annoying, wolf-whistling macho men, only to pause as I looked around. "...I'm lost," I sighed. "See, this is why I need GPS."

Scanning around for any hint of where to go, my eyes fell on someone wandering down the bridge connected to the alley I was in. Ugh, this was going to suck, but I had to ask...

"Uh, excuse me," I called out as I ran up to them. They were about my modified height - which, naturally, was a few inches or so lower than my real height. Gotta look _petite_. "Can you..."

I trailed off as I realized exactly who I was talking to. The player was clearly experienced, since they weren't wearing the same plain white coat that Kirito and I had spawned with. No, they were wearing fashionable pants and an olive-green leather jacket, along with a white scarf that trailed down their back.

But that wasn't the problem. No, the biggest problem was that the player I'd stopped to ask for directions was _actually_ female, as opposed to me.

And asking a girl for directions in the game was like, number two on the list of cliché ways to hit on a girl gamer, surpassed only by asking if they needed help with any quests.

Her avatar was pretty, though, with the turquoise hair held out of her face with two metal barrettes keeping her bangs together and another two metal barrettes tying back two longer locks of hair, framing her face. She turned to look at me, blue eyes staring at me coldly, and said, "Yeah, what?"

"Uh..." I froze awkwardly, not really sure what to do.

Her eyes scanned my entire body, head to feet and then back up again. "Your first time in the game, huh?" After a second, her flat stare softened into a smile, and I felt the tension in my shoulders relax.

She…

She totally thinks I'm a girl, doesn't she.

"I, um..." Well, on one hand, if she thinks I'm a girl she's much less likely to just blow me off. On the other hand, I should probably have _some_ kind of ethical dilemma, what with deliberately fooling her to get some help with this game.

Then again, I'm me. "Where do you wanna go?" she asked kindly.

Well, on one hand I'm a guy. On the other, I look like a girl and in all honesty my physical body doesn't really matter all that much...

 _(Time to be a pretty princess~!)_

Alright. Behavior patterns learned from Argo and Asuna, don't fail me now! For now, let's go with the Asuna habits, since she's probably a better person to mimic until this girl gets to know me. "Yes," I admitted, deliberately keeping my voice higher pitched as I placed a hand on my cheek and tilted my head in the way Asuna did from time to time. "It's my first time." That done, I tilted my head a little bit more as I laid a slender finger on my cheek, letting my hair shift a little bit. "I'm looking for a cheap gun, and then the Governor's Office? Do you know?" I asked with a sunny smile.

The girl smiled back. "Oh, sure. I can show you." Score. Now, this is probably gonna bite me in the ass later, but later isn't now, so I'm going to let her continue thinking I'm a girl.

"By the way," the girl asked as we rode up an escalator, "why do you wanna go to the Governor's Office?"

"Uh," I said, pressing my fingers together and playing with my hands, "that's where you sign up for the event called Bullet of Bullets, right?"

"BoB?" she asked incredulously. "Okay, but you just started playing today, right?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"Yeah, I dunno," she said, looking off to the side a little awkwardly. "Your stats may not be high enough for that..."

"If that's the only problem, then it should be okay," I said once we were walking down some walkway somewhere in the city and _oh gods I'm still lost_. Please don't realize I'm actually a guy and leave me alone, please, kind lady. "I converted this account, so my stats and skills should be transferred from another game."

"If you say so," the girl said, smiling. She still sounded dubious, though. "So anyway," she said, "you picked a heck of a game to play. It's all grimy and stinks of oil."

I shrugged, tugging at a lock of my hair like I'd seen Argo do every now and then. "Every other game I've played was a fantasy game, so I wanted to try something new?" A floating advertisement for a gun caught my eye, and I stopped to look at it. It wasn't all that interesting, but it gave me an excuse to collect my thoughts and get my story straight. "And the whole gun battle thing seemed neat, too."

"Really?" she said. "It takes guts to start out with the BoB like that." I just smiled. "Let's hook you up with a gun, then. I know this great market. It's down here."

"Okay."

Along the way, I got a message from Kirito saying that he'd managed to get himself some funds from a gambling game he'd managed to win and bought his equipment already. I'm not sure how he managed to find his way so quickly, but maybe I was just wandering in the complete wrong direction while I was lost for ten, fifteen minutes. "Did you convert with someone?" the girl asked me.

"Huh?" I blinked, then realized she could see me messaging Kirito. "Oh, um, yeah. He's a friend of mine, and we were going to enter the BoB together. He just messaged me and said he was heading to the Governor's Office."

"Your friend's a guy, huh?" she asked, a small smile on her face. "Must be nice."

"N-no," I said hurriedly, waving my hands in the air in front of me. "It's not like that, honest..." I think that's how Sugu denies it when Rika teases her about her brother, at least.

"Sure it isn't," she said. Wait, shit, Sugu might not be the best role model for this situation!

"Really!" I frowned, and the girl smiled.

The market she led me to was, appropriately enough, labeled Market. "Are you sure this is a market?" I asked her. "I'm not sure."

"Cute," she said. "This is usually where I resupply after heading out."

As we entered, I was immediately distracted by all the people hanging around and chatting. It was like being in the main streets of Alne, only with guns and sleeveless vests instead of swords and robes. Off to the side, a spotlight was shining on two females wearing skin-tight outfits, each holding a gun that was as tall as they were.

I realized that the girl I was following had kept walking while I gawked like a tourist, and hurried to catch up to her. "This place is pretty busy," I said.

"Yeah, well, the two types of weapons that are mostly used in GGO are optical guns and live ammo guns."

"Huh."

"An optical gun is lighter and more accurate, but it has its drawbacks. If your opponent equips their defense shield, it only does half the damage." I'm not saying no to the tutorial, but I'm desperately trying to maintain the facade of being a girl, learning everything this actual girl is telling me, and taking in the sights while following her. Go go gadget multitasking. "For a one-on-one tourney like BoB, a live ammo gun is the best bet."

I hummed thoughtfully. "Well, you probably know better, so sure."

The aisle she led me to had a bunch of panels displaying guns that didn't look quite as futuristic as the optical guns had, and I assumed these were the live ammo guns. "Okay, let's start with your stats," the girl said. "Highest one first."

"Uh, speed first, then dexterity," I said. "After that is strength and then the rest are whatever."

She frowned, raising a hand to her chin in thought. "You're a AGI-STR type, huh? Well, it's not great, but it's not too bad either. Okay, you have two choices for your main weapon, either a heavy assault rifle or a large-caliber machine gun." Oh gods. "Whichever one you choose, you're also gonna need a handgun for a backup weapon..." It's like listening to Kirito talk about swords. Someone, someone please save me from weapon geeks.

The girl looked back at me suddenly. "Oh, wait a sec, you said you just converted over, didn't you," she said, and I hurriedly cleared the look of exasperation off my face. "Do you have any credits?"

"Yeah, I think," I said, hurriedly swiping open my menu. "Let's see... It says I have a thousand credits."

The girl put a hand on her hip and looked at me. "Yeah, everyone starts with that. Hm..." she hummed as she brought her hand to her chin again.

"That's not enough, is it," I said with a sigh.

She shook her head. "If you were just starting out, then you'd be fine with a ray gun. But for live ammo guns, a thousand won't even get you a used revolver."

Suddenly, I remembered Kirito's message to me. "Uh, is there some way for me to make money quickly? Like, a gambling game or something?"

She nodded. "I don't really recommend them, but there are casinos and gambling games. Like that one," she said, pointing over my shoulder. I turned to see a sign with a cowboy man winking. It read 'Let's Challenge'.

Well, sign, might as well.

I frowned as I took in the sight of the game itself, Untouchable!. It was, uh... very American? It looked like something out of those old spaghetti Westerns, down to the quickdraw gunman twirling his pistol. "Hey, chicken!" he called out. "Come on!"

"What's going on?" the girl asked, frowning. "It's never this busy..."

"My friend did say he won some gambling game," I said, tilting my head and tapping my cheek with a finger. "Maybe he was talking about this one?"

"Yeah, I dunno," my guide said. "Untouchable!'s really hard."

"How do you play?"

She pointed at the gate. "You enter through that gate and then down that alley, dodging the NPC's bullets. The idea is to get as close as you can without getting shot. If you can touch him, you get all the cash everyone's sunk into it since the last time he was beat."

I blinked at the sum displayed above the gunman. I think three hundred thousand was a lot of money. "All that?"

"Three hundred thou and change," she said.

"That's... that's a lot of money," I said.

"Well, I don't think anyone's beat it," the girl said, "which is why I'm surprised there's a lot of people here."

I blinked and raised a finger. "Surely someone's managed to beat it."

She shook her head. "Once you get past eight meters, he switches to a quick draw mode. By the time you see the bullet lines, it's too late. ...And don't call me Shirley," she added with a small grin.

I smiled and let out a surprised little laugh. Who knew? This girl liked old movies too. "Bullet lines?" I asked. "What are those?"

She was about to answer when she pointed at the gate. "See, watch this guy about to go." I just shrugged and watched as the next challenger stepped up to the gate.

Once it swung open, he started running down the corridor, only to stop after several steps and contort himself, going on one leg and raising his arm high. What...? A series of shots rang out and three streaks zipped by him, passing through the gaps in posture he'd left.

"Were those... bullet lines?" I asked, frowning a little bit as people cheered.

"Yep," the girl said. "It's a defensive system assist. We all have it. Except for a sniper's first shot, bullet prediction lines always show up in the target's field of vision. They're little red streaks showing where the bullet is gonna go."

I paused, mouth open a little bit. That... That sounds like...

Heh. That three hundred thousand is going to be _mine_.

"Hey, wait," she said, catching my arm as I all but charged for the entrance to the game. "That alley's so narrow, you can't dodge left or right and are forced to charge straight at the gunslinger. Nobody's really made it farther than about halfway, like that guy," she said, pointing out where the latest challenger had failed.

"Actually," one of the spectators said, looking at us, "rumor has it some guy beat the game this afternoon. A bunch of people have been trying over and over to do it again, so that's why the jackpot is so high."

"Really?" the girl asked, blinking.

"I'll be right back," I said, slipping from her grasp. "Just gotta win some spending cash."

"Wait," she called out again. "Look, if you don't win, I can just lend you enough money to buy a gun."

I'd really rather not. I don't like borrowing anything, or being in debt. "That's really sweet of you to offer," I said hurriedly, "but I should be fine."

I glanced down the aisle as I stepped up to the plate and pressed my hand to the payment screen. So, the defensive system here is a watered-down version of Future Step, huh? Well, this shouldn't take long at all.

...

Heh. That was a nice warm-up.

"I can't believe it!" the girl gasped as I strutted out of the gate victorious. "How did you..."

"You made it sound hard," I said with an easy smile. This was more for the benefit of the flabbergasted audience than for her, really.

"But at that end there, you dodged the lasers from only two meters away!" she said. "At that range, there shouldn't have been any time between the prediction lines and the bullet!"

"Oh, uh..." I said, "really? I just figured that since the game was already cheating, it would try one last thing. I was already moving before I saw the prediction lines. Um..." How would Kirito put it? "I predicted the predictions?"

"You predicted the predictions?" she repeated in shock.

* * *

We arrived at the Governor's Office in a screech of tires. We'd spent so much time shopping for my equipment and testing out my new gun, we almost missed the sign-up deadline. "Five minutes," I reported, glancing at my watch.

"We have to hurry!" the girl said, grabbing my hand and dragging me off the bike. I raced up the stairs behind her.

When we entered the Governor's Office, I forgot myself and looked around in awe, staring at the huge holographic display in front of me, and all the players standing around, and -

"Hey, come on!" the girl said, pulling me. I kept looking around even as she pulled me forward. One of these players standing here in this place could be Death Gun...

"Here we are," she said, and I brought my attention back to my surroundings. "This is where we have to sign up for the tourney. It's a typical run-of-the-mill touch panel interface. You think you can handle it, or do you want some help?"

I grinned. "I should be able to handle myself," I said.

"Okay," she said. "I'm gonna be over at the next terminal, so if you get stuck, holler."

"Okay," I said as she went to her own terminal. "Thanks," I said.

When I started the application process, I paused. On one hand, I didn't _have_ to enter my information. On the other, if I won, I got prizes... Hurrying to make it in time, I typed in my information and hit submit.

"You done yet?" my guide said, leaning out to look at me.

"Yes," I said, raising my hand to rub at the back of my head sheepishly. I _really_ wanted to snark, but it didn't fit the character I was playing. "Thank you so much for your help today. Sorry for all the trouble."

"No worries," she said, smiling brightly. "That crazy ride on the buggy more than made up for it. Anyway," she said, "which block did you end up with for the prelims?"

I glanced over at the screen. "F, I guess... F-37?"

"Really? I'm in F too. Cool coincidence, huh?" she said. Well, it probably wasn't that big a coincidence, since we signed up so late at the same time... "When do we meet, though... Oh, good," she said, looking at the little tournament bracket it was showing. "We're not gonna meet up again until the finals."

"Not sure what you mean," I admitted. "Why's that good?"

"If a player makes it to the final bracket in the prelims, it doesn't matter if they lose," she told me. "They'll automatically advance to the battle royale. That means," she said, raising a finger, "we both have a shot at making it to the battle royale. As long as we make it to the last bracket."

"Oh. Convenient."

"But, if we do make it to the final bracket in the prelims," she said, and electricity tingled my spine. She _meant_ this. "I'll be playing to win," she said, locking eyes with me.

Naturally, my eyes slid away from hers. I didn't like meeting people's gazes for more than a brief instant. "Sounds like fun," I said. "I'll meet you there. No holding back, 'kay?"

My guide and I wandered through the Governor's Office, chatting lightly about the quality of the Japanese translation of the game and how the game operated in a legal grey zone because of the cash conversion aspect of the game. "Game's practically independent of the real world," she said as she stopped. I turned to look at her. "Maybe that's why the person I am in here and the real me... feel like two different people..."

I stared at her.

"Sorry," she said, raising her hands in apology before folding them behind her back and smiling. "We should head to the prelim area now. Wanna go?"

"Sure..."

"That way," she pointed towards what I assumed were elevators. "It's in the basement."

The elevator was brightly lit, but the room in the basement it let out into definitely wasn't. I hesitated as I walked out into a sea of faces, all of whom seemed like they were staring at me. Pretend you belong here and they'll assume that you do. I knew that little maxim, but right then I couldn't move.

A light touch on my arm brought me out of my small panic-induced paralyzation. "You okay?" the girl asked.

"Huh? O-oh, I'm fine," I said.

"Good," she sighed. "Let's go to the waiting room first. You're gonna need some privacy to change into your new combat suit."

"Right," I said.

"Ugh," she sighed and folded her arms as she took a seat in the empty room she led me to. "I swear. What a bunch of dumbasses."

"Huh?" I said eloquently. "Who are you talking about? Those people outside showing off their weapons ahead of time and giving people a half hour to come up with strategies on how to defeat them?"

"...Yeah," she said, giving me an appraising look. "Piece of advice? Don't equip your weapons until just before the match starts," she told me as she stood up and swiped open her menu.

I nodded. Then I froze as I watched her press on her menu and swipe down, and her entire outfit disappeared, just leaving her in her bra and panties. "Erk," I said, hurriedly looking away. _I_ didn't have a problem with changing in front of her, but something told me she might have an issue.

"Huh? Don't just stand there, hurry up and get changed already," she said, staring at me.

"I, uh... Um... I can't, I..." Fuck it. Let's go for broke. "Here's my identification," I said, sending her the screen.

She stepped forward to look at it. "Let's see... Rythin... Huh, that's an interesting name, I'll give you that... Wait," she said. " _Male_?! Bu... I... You... You're kidding! No way. You're a guy?! With _that_ avatar?!"

Please don't rub it in.

There was a brief moment of silence. I was very carefully looking far above her head, but I could still see her face as she stared at me, then slowly looked down at herself. For a frozen moment, neither of us moved, and I started to hope that maybe she just accepted that she made a mistake and screwed up and hahaha who am I kidding this is gonna suck.

Gingerly, I looked down and grinned hesitantly. Forgiven?

She was trembling with rage, growling under her breath.

Yeah, didn't think so. "In my defense, you didn't ask, you just assumed."

"Why, you-!" she burst out before rearing back and swinging a palm.

* * *

The final round of the preliminaries. I'd managed to get through all of my battles so far thanks to careful and creative application of my grenades, the hand cannon Sinon had called the pistol I purchased, a beam saber modified to produce a shorter blade, and the fact that nobody knew what I could do.

But this last opponent knew what I could do, and to make things worse...

...she'd seen what had happened to me after Death Gun made his crack about being a monster.

I wasn't... I wasn't a monster, right? I wasn't a monster. I couldn't be a monster.

But it made sense. Why everyone close to me just left, sooner or later. They didn't want to be with something like me. They wanted real, human friends. And it was only a matter of time before Asuna and Argo figured that out and they left me too, right? Humans want human friends, and they were human.

When I spawned into the arena, I was on a ruined highway, rusted cars dotting the road. A glittering wall of hexagons appeared when I glanced behind me and over the sides. I was stuck up here, and I had to assume Sinon was as well.

Did it even matter? Did I even have to try? I mean, I'd made it to the finals, right? That's all that mattered. I didn't have to try anymore, not today.

Sinon was a sniper, I knew that much from watching the feeds. She'd expect me to try to stick to the shadows and get close to her, so she'd try to shoot me before I knew where she was. I didn't even bother to get out either of my guns and just started walking forward. Might as well get this over with.

 _(Kill me)_

A shot rang out, and I stopped walking. The bullet whizzed past me and slammed into a car behind me and to my left, exploding into flame. I just stood there. More bullets missed me, hitting the pavement to my left and right. After a second, three more bullets flew past me. None of them touched me.

I just stood there.

 _(Kill me, damn you)_

For almost thirty seconds, no bullets shot at me - and then Sinon herself appeared in front of me, panting from running all the way from where she'd been set up to snipe, and aimed her massive gun at me. "Come on, fight! Or maybe you think I'm not worth the effort!"

 _(Why won't you let me die)_

...Fine... "You've got it all wrong," I said flatly, idly fiddling with my red jacket. My gun was holstered on my back, where I could grab it easily, and my knife saber was on my hip, but there was no point to drawing a weapon. "I just need to make it into the final. There's no reason to fight."

 _(I deserve to die)_

"Then go on and shoot yourself and get it over with! Or would that be a waste of ammo!" she snapped. "Or maybe you _wanted_ me to shoot you because it would even the score between us!" she continued, stepping forward. "To you, it's just a game. Just one stupid match. That's all it is to you, is that it?! A game?"

I winced as I heard the tears enter her voice. But it's okay. A monster like me didn't have to be upset that I made a pretty girl like her cry.

"Well, just because you feel that way doesn't mean I do!" she shouted.

 _'But, if we do make it to the final bracket in the prelims,' she said, and electricity tingled my spine. She_ meant _this. 'I'll be playing to win,' she said, locking eyes with me._

 _Naturally, my eyes slid away from hers. I didn't like meeting people's gazes for more than a brief instant. 'Sounds like fun,' I said. 'I'll meet you there. No holding back, 'kay?'_

I am...

 _("Your eyes… you like to kill, don't you? You're a monster, Rythin.")_

I'm a...

 _("You should have sided with us. We would have given you everything you wanted.")_

I… I lie to myself. Being intelligent doesn't mean I don't tell myself lies, it just means the ones I do tell are even more insidious and subtle.

That's why I can't believe anything I believe. I have to believe in Argo, and Asuna. I always say that I believe in them implicitly, without having to question them, and they'd never given up on me. Death Gun called me a monster, and they called me their brother. And right now, I was trampling over Sinon's heart and proving Death Gun right.

Fuck. That.

"...Sorry," I said, looking up at Sinon. "I... didn't mean it that way. Sure, it's a game. And it's only one match. But it means a lot to you, right? So I shouldn't act like it means nothing, because then it'd be like saying you mean nothing, and I refuse to say that."

I sighed and squared my shoulders. "Give me a chance, Sinon. A chance to make this up to you. I want to make things right. You deserve that much."

"I swear, if you're messin' with me," she growled.

I didn't reply, I just reached behind me and grasped my pistol. Sinon shifted, aiming her sniper rifle, and I raised my other hand to stop her. I drew out my gun, carefully pointing it at the ground, and racked the slide once. A bullet popped out, and I caught it. "You still have a bullet? Or are you out?" I asked.

"Yeah, I got one."

"Okay, good," I said. "How about a duel, then? Fair for both of us, that way. We stand ten meters apart, you with your gun and me with my knife. I toss this bullet in the air, and when it hits the ground we try to kill each other. Sound fair?"

"Hang on," she said. "If we're that close, you won't be able to see the bullet line and react. With my Hecate, I'll definitely hit you. At that range, I can't miss."

I just grinned. "Hey, you saw me back at the market. I can't pass up a good gamble."

She stared at me, as if trying to figure out what I had planned, before nodding. "Okay," she said, "if that's how you want it, let's go."

Grinning, I turned and walked away until I was ten meters away. After I reached my spot, I turned. Sinon ejected the spent bullet in her Hecate before lifting it up, looking down the scope. Can I...? I can.

I grinned, lifting the bullet. "Okay," I said, "get set." I flipped the bullet in the air, the metal ringing with a _ping_ , and grabbed my knife, flicking the switch to turn it on. The red hilt fit comfortably in my hand as the short purple blade hummed to life, and I lifted it, taking a deep breath as I slid into my stance. Body turned to the side, one leg bent slightly and the other raised on the balls of my foot. All my weight was on my back leg. The cat stance.

I wasn't Kirito. I didn't have his skills with a sword, or his reflexes. My only skill was my experience with Future Step.

 _(Let her shoot)_

The bullet spun in the air, reaching a peak before it began its glittering descent.

But that wouldn't stop me, because that experience was all I needed.

 _(Kana and Asuna believe in me)_

When the bullet hit the ground with another metallic _ping_ , Sinon fired.

I stood my ground, my blade describing a tiny arc of light as it shifted, and I didn't look back as Sinon's bullet split in half, two shooting stars passing by me with centimeters to spare. One of the bullet fragments struck a car and it exploded, giving me time.

Sinon's eyes widened as she rocked back with the recoil from her Hecate, and I took the chance to dash forward. My high speed meant I could cross the distance even while she braced herself with her back foot and grabbed for her secondary weapon. I swung my knife at her in a quick swipe and she bent over, instinctively trying to avoid it. Unfortunately, she bent too much and started to lose her balance.

I caught her, one hand around her back supporting her weight, and the other hand holding my knife to her throat.

"You knew where I was aiming," she whispered as I held her. "But how? How'd you know I was going for your leg?"

"I knew because I could see your eye," I told her. "Through the scope. We were close enough that I could see where you were looking. From there, experience guided me - that brief instant of the bullet line was all I needed, since I already knew the general area of your target."

She stared at me, eyes shining. "If you're so strong you can do that, why'd you look so afraid before?"

I looked at her steadily. "That wasn't strength, Sinon. Just experience and skill."

"No, it's not," she pleaded. "Technique isn't enough to cut a bullet from my Hecate in half! You and I both know that. It takes strength! And that's... that's what I'm here to figure out," she said, tears brimming.

I felt my heart twinge at the sight. "Please don't cry," I whispered. "You shouldn't... you shouldn't be crying. It's not right." I gritted my teeth. "Listen, Sinon... What you're calling strength, it's not _really_ strength. Strength in the game isn't emotional strength, the strength that lets you make hard decisions. Could you shoot someone, if you knew that in the real world that person would die from it? And what if you _had_ to kill that player, to keep yourself alive? To keep someone you love alive? Could you pull that trigger?"

Her eyes widened and she gasped, lips parting slightly. After a second of staring at me, her eyes dropped. I tightened my grip, pulling her closer to me, and flicked the switch on my knife. The blade disappeared from her throat. "I've made that choice before," I admitted, "and I can't go through that again. Not and come out whole." Hells, I don't know if I'm whole _now_. "So I'm not as strong as you think, Sinon," I told her.

Her pistol slipped from her fingers with a clatter. I didn't really see it; my own memories were playing in my vision. I saw that man I poisoned and left to die in an abandoned house, and I saw those men I killed on top of that gorge. And I didn't care about their deaths, or feel happy or sad, or anything other than satisfaction at a job well done. I'd be able to do it again in a heartbeat if I needed -

A cool touch on my cheek brought me back to reality and I realized Sinon had brushed my cheek with her fingers. I looked at her, and I couldn't tell if it was sympathy or understanding, but regardless I shook my head with a small smile and gently touched the back of her hand. She shouldn't waste either on me. "So, I guess this means I won the duel, right?" I asked her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess..."

"Well, would you mind surrendering?" I asked her. "It's a little awkward, but now that we've talked a little bit it'd be kinda weird to just... stab you. Especially someone like you," I added.

"Huh?" Sinon looked down, and I just realized how close our two bodies were when her face went bright red. With a gasp she broke away from me, pushing at my chest, and took a few steps back. "Next time," she said, glaring at me despite the embarrassment written on her face, "I'm not gonna lose. See you at the finals! And make sure you survive until you see me again!" With a huff, she turned around and resigned.

 _(…Hot damn)_

...Okay, I can't be the _only_ person to notice how her skin-tight outfit accentuates her... avatar, right?

* * *

 **Sinon's route has begun! It's mostly the same as Nightblade canon, only Kirito and Rythin have completely swapped roles instead of Nick just replacing Kazuto. Much better, I know (end sarcasm). I still find it fun to play around with Argo/Rythin having a thing, only in this case the thing is being the most touchy-feely siblings in existence. And he's not kidding when he says it looks like romantic love from the outside, either. They way the two of them act, even their friend group expects one to pounce on the other and just kiss them senseless. Which has happened. (Argo initiated, and Rythin didn't mind too much, but they both agreed it didn't really... feel right.)**

 **The italics in parenthesis on their own line is Rythin's subconscious speaking, by the way. Without parenthesis is a flashback.**

 **Also, even though he's asexual, Rythin gets distracted by Sinon's appearance in her battle outfit. That is a thing.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**

 **(ack now there's even more pages in the Tropes for Nightblade. some weird person added crowning moments of awesome and funny... when will this madness stop? (y'all are fantastic. please go ahead and add to it!))**


	7. Route: Sinon - Part 2

**Route Sinon – Part 2**

* * *

"Sinon!" I shouted. Her prone body was lying on the ground, and I dashed out from behind cover to check on her.

Crap, crap, crap crap crap, this was all my fault. Sinon, if you got hurt, I'll… Damn it, why hadn't I seen this coming? Gods damn Death Gun to the deepest pits of hells.

Death Gun was too busy taking shelter from the fire of the rifle Kirito had stolen from someone, probably Musketeer X, to fire at me, but I took a few shots to keep him honest anyway. The bark of my hand cannon almost surprised me, but I was too focused on Sinon to worry about that.

I'd screwed up, and I thought that we'd pinned down Death Gun. Unfortunately, we were wrong, and it was only my sudden and bizarre desire to check on Sinon that had placed me close enough to do anything.

Kirito was busy backing me up so I tossed out a smoke grenade. Before I do more than take aim at Death Gun again, he ducked into the store he was using for shelter and disappeared into the gloom. Snarling under my breath, I kneeled by Sinon's body and slipped my arms under her before lifting her up. Kirito joined me and we both ran.

"I'm slowing you down," Sinon whispered. "Just leave me."

"Not -" I had to pause as a bullet whizzed by me. "Not happening," I snarled. A vehicle conspicuously not rusted caught my eye, and I called out, "Kirito!"

He nodded and we ran to the buggy. I saw a mechanical horse and was tempted to use that instead, but Sinon said, "Not... the horse. It goes fast, but... it's too hard to handle." I surrendered to her superior game knowledge and we chose the buggy.

While Kirito paid the fee, I placed Sinon down gingerly in the back seat and got in beside her. As we tore away, I felt a grip on my hand and looked down to see Sinon gripping my hand tightly. She didn't even look like she was aware of it, so I let her do whatever she wanted to keep herself calm.

Once we were moving, Sinon let out a sigh of relief and the pressure on my hand disappeared. "Sinon," Kirito said as he hit the breaks after a second, "get your rifle and blow that horse away."

"Wha...?" she murmured, turning to look at it. "A-Alright... I'll try."

She took aim, and I waited for the bark of her Hecate, when she whispered, "...No..." I looked over and she was staring at her gun and trembling. "I can't... My finger... I can't do it! I can't pull the trigger!"

I bit at my lip, before swearing out loud. "Kirito, we have to go _now_ ," I said. Death Gun had just rounded the corner. Sinon jolted back from the scope of her rifle and I rested my hand on her shoulder. "Hang on tight."

Kirito gunned the engine as Death Gun broke into a sprint towards us, but we were using a vehicle and he was on foot. There was no way he'd catch us like that... Sinon whimpered as Death Gun's gas mask let out a burst of steam. "It's no use..."

"We can still get away," Kirito called back. "Stay sharp, damn it!"

Sinon glanced over her shoulder, and I rolled my eyes as Death Gun burst around the corner riding that mechanical horse. Of _course_ he can ride the horse, he was in Aincrad and there were horses in that place too.

"He's catching up!" Sinon shouted before she gripped my shoulders and buried her face in my chest. "Hurry, faster! Please, don't let him catch up to us!" she pleaded.

Kirito was giving the engine everything he got, but the horse was just faster. Once Death Gun got closer to us, he pulled out the pistol and took aim. I didn't see a bullet prediction line, but Sinon flinched, eyes wide and face pale, and ducked away. Death Gun fired and the bullet zipped by her face, and she let out a scream before clinging to me even tighter. "No!" she screamed.

Death Gun fired again and it hit the wheelhouse of our buggy. Not accurate enough... He's going to take a break and try to get closer. "Help me!" Sinon begged me. "I can't do this! I don't wanna die!"

"Sinon," I said. "Sinon! Hey!" She looked up at me. "Listen, we have a few seconds before Death Gun can open fire again. Pick up your gun and shoot him!"

"No, I can't..." she whimpered.

"We just need a distraction," I urged her. "A hit is nice but not necessary!"

She tightened her grip on me even more and tried to bury her face in my chest. "I can't! Don't make me... don't make me..."

I gritted my teeth. "Then give me the gun and I'll do it!"

She looked at me blankly, then over at her gun. I was risking a lot on that request... Slowly, Sinon picked up the gun and leaned it over the back of the buggy again, and I sighed in relief. Good. I knew that she treasured her Hecate, and to any warrior their weapon is part of them. "I can't do it," she said, her finger trembling. "I can't shoot, I can't move my finger! I can't... I can't fight anymore."

"You can," I promised her. "No matter what, there's always a way to fight. So what's it going to be, Sinon? In, or out? Are you going to fight, or give up?" She closed her eyes, her finger trembling, and I reached out to place my hand on top of hers. "I'll help you," I told her. "But you have to try. You can do this, I know you can," I said. Slowly, I helped guide her finger to the trigger guard.

She looked down the sight. "It's no good," she said weakly. "It's shaking too much, I can't lock on!"

I glanced at Kirito, and he raised three fingers. "It's okay," I told her. "The shaking's gonna stop in three... two... one..." I counted down in time with Kirito lowering each finger.

"Now!" I shouted just as Kirito hit the ramp, launching the buggy in the air. We were in the air, so there wasn't any shaking. Sinon looked at me, for a second, before turning back to the scope. Her finger curled around the trigger of her Hecate, and she pulled the trigger.

It didn't hit Death Gun. "I missed..." Sinon breathed.

The car she'd hit instead exploded into flame, swallowing up Death Gun. "Eh, close enough," I told her. "Let's go, Kirito."

We managed to escape the city and flee into the desert, where we were forced to hide in one of the caves that dotted the landscape so as to not give away our position. Sinon told us all about the Skill called Metamaterial Optical Camouflage, which was how Death Gun turned invisible.

Kirito suggested that Sinon could just hide in the cave and wait for the two of us to handle Death Gun, but she suggested something else in return. "I'm not gonna hide either," she said. I blinked. "I'm going outside and I'm helping you take that bastard out."

"No!" I exploded suddenly. Kirito looked like he'd been about to say something but stayed silent, letting me handle this. "Haven't you been listening? There's a chance that if he shoots you, you'll die. Close combat is _my_ specialty, mine and Kirito's, not yours. You're in a lot more danger thanks to his invisibility skill."

"I don't care if I die."

I inhaled sharply at Sinon's admission. It was far too close to how I acted.

 _(Help her)_

"I was scared out of my mind back at the stadium. I was scared I was gonna die," Sinon said, not looking at me or Kirito. "I was even weaker than I was five years ago, like a screaming, crying little girl. If that's how I'm gonna be for the rest of my life, then I'd rather be dead."

"Fear is natural, Sinon," I told her gently. "Charging blindly into danger isn't strength or courage, it's foolishness. Being afraid of dying isn't anything to worry about."

"Yeah, well, I hate it," she snapped. Then she leaned forward. "I'm tired of being afraid. I'm so tired... Whatever," she said, starting to stand up. "I'm not asking to go with you. I'll go by myself."

Before she'd taken more than two steps, I was on my feet and had caught her wrist in a tight grip. "Uh-uh," I said, shaking my head. "You're not going anywhere. Fighting alone and dying alone, that's what you want?"

"Yeah," she said. She didn't look at me. "I was always supposed to die alone."

"Bullshit," I snapped, keeping hold of her hand even when she jerked her arm and told me to let her go. "It doesn't work like that. You don't get to die alone. Now that we're here, now that you and I are part of each other's lives, you don't _ever_ get to die alone and not affect anyone else. It doesn't work that way."

"I never asked to be a part of your life," Sinon snapped. "And besides, my life's nobody's business but mine."

"Nope," I said, the corners of my lips twitching up. "You don't get to just leave like that. I won't let you."

"...Alright." Sinon turned and grabbed my shirt, pulling herself towards me. "If that's how it is, then you can protect me for the rest of my life!"

A few drops hit the floor, and I realized tears were rolling down her face. "You don't know anything!" she shouted, banging her fist on my chest plate. "And you can't do anything, so don't go saying stuff like that! This... This isn't your fight, it's mine!" she sobbed. "Mine, you got that? Even if I lose, even if I die! ...No one can blame me for what I did."

"You wanna help?" she snarled, glaring at me through her tears. "You gonna carry this burden with me? Then what, huh?" she asked, clenching a shaking fist. "You gonna hold my hands... Even though they've got blood all over 'em?" She clenched her eyes shut, sobbing.

"Deal."

 _(Protect her)_

"...What?" she whispered, sounding so terribly, terribly broken.

"I said deal." I kept my voice serious. "I'll protect you for the rest of your life. Whatever blood you think is on your hands, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me in the slightest."

Sinon stared at me before letting out a quiet wail and leaning against me, pounding on my shoulder as she sobbed into my chest. I just raised my arms and tried to put them around her, but before I could do more than just brush her shoulder she batted my arm to the side. "You can't just say that!" she wailed. "I hate you! I hate your guts... Hate you..."

I let her cry herself out. It... It hurt, seeing her emotions so raw like that. Whatever had happened to her, it had hurt her deeply and she'd been trying to fight it on her own ever since.

She didn't have to be on her own anymore.

 _(I don't have to be on my own anymore)_

"Where were you the last five years, huh?" she whispered.

Eventually she stopped crying, and I carefully walked us back over to the cave wall, where I sat down. "Even though I hate your guts," Sinon said quietly, "I'm gonna borrow your lap for a bit." I didn't have any objections to that arrangement, and she slid down my shoulder until her head was resting on my thigh. She felt warm.

Slowly, hesitantly, she told me the story of a little eleven-year old girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and accidentally shot a robber dead. Some point during the story, I gently rested a hand on her shoulder and she snaked her hand up over mine. She explained, hand tightening on mine, how she had panic attacks after seeing a gun in real life, and how the guns in GGO didn't trigger them. She explained how she wanted to become the strongest in GGO so she'd be strong in real life, but then how Death Gun had scared her so much she'd gone back to being her real self and not Sinon.

In return, I quietly admitted to the four people I'd killed inside Aincrad. She listened as I explained how I restrained and poisoned a player killer in an abandoned house and watched the screaming lunatic die heartbeat by heartbeat, and as I clinically described killing Kuradeel's three helpers on top of that gorge. During all this, Kirito was carefully being quiet, and I was grateful for it.

At some point during all of this, Sinon had shifted so her head was fully in my lap instead of just on my thigh, her hand resting on my leg. Unfortunately, she rolled on her stomach while doing so, which made it somewhat hard to concentrate if my gaze ever drifted left of her blue eyes. I mean, I was asexual and everything that implied, but _damn_ that ass. It wasn't too hard, though, all I had to do was try not to look below Sinon's shoulders and keep my eyes on her face and _oh, okay brain, just don't think about purple elephants ready set go oh good heavens look at the time it's purple elephant o'clock_.

While we were waiting for the satellite scan to pass, the three of us discussed Death Gun and discovered how he was committing his serial murders - by spying on players as they entered their personal details and then sending a partner in to assassinate them while they played. He had rules, though, and those rules had to be followed; he had to use his Death Gun to shoot them, and he had to make a cross sign before he killed them so he could check the time.

The problem was, when we made the connection between aiming the gun inside the game and having the partner inside the player's home, Sinon had another panic attack at the realization that a killer was inside her home, watching the livestream of BoB and waiting for her to be shot in the game. I was able to calm her down by wrapping her in a hug, but she shivered for a minute or two without protesting my embrace, which told me exactly how scared she was.

I just kept my arms around her, lightly stroking her hair, and she eventually calmed down. "Tell me you have a plan," she said.

"That's what I'm good for," I said with a smile. Gently, she tried to pull away and I let her.

"We can't stay in this cave forever," she said. "By now, the other players have realized the two - ah, three of us are hiding in this cave, and we'll be sitting ducks." Aw, she forgot Kirito was in here with us? That's kinda adorable.

"Right," I said.

Sinon looked up at me. "We've been a team this whole time, right? So might as well finish it together."

I just smiled. "And what about the gun?" I asked her.

"Oh, that thing?" she scoffed. "It's just an old-school single-action sidearm. He can fire it all he wants, but I've got you there. Just deflect the bullets with your dagger."

I grinned weakly. "I appreciate the faith, but that's, uh, more Kirito's thing. I just got really, _really_ lucky during the finals."

"I knew it," she muttered.

"But I'm not sure about you being out there," I said. "That thing's dangerous, and you shouldn't get too close to Death Gun."

Sinon shifted so that she was all but sitting in my lap and frowned at me. "Oh, come on."

"Hey," I protested, "it's not that I'm saying you shouldn't fight. Just that you're a sniper, and you shouldn't be getting close to the fight. Isn't that where your talents lie?"

"What about it?"

I nodded. "Here's the plan. Kirito steps outside during the next scan so that he shows up on the map. Death Gun will be forced to come to us. He's got that sniper rifle of his own, so he'll probably try to pick Kirito off from a distance. When he does, you'll be able to find his location and take him out." I glanced over at Kirito. "Sound good?"

He nodded. "I'm cool with playing the decoy."

"And what about you?" Sinon asked me. "Don't tell me you're gonna be hiding here." She lightly smacked my side, and I grunted.

"I'm with you, Sinon. I promised I wouldn't let you die, and when I give my word I keep it." Then I paused. "Wait, his rifle has a silencer, and you said that snipers didn't have a bullet line on their first shot. Will you be able to find him?"

"Oh, don't worry," Sinon said. "I'll just predict the prediction." She smiled happily. "You know, like some no-good faker told-"

That was when I leaned forward until our faces were millimeters from touching. "I think we should stop talking now," I said softly.

"Uh..." she said. We looked up to see a little disc hovering over us, and she sighed. "Oh, crap. We shoulda been paying more attention..."

"What is it?" I asked her. "And more importantly, do I have to kill it?"

"It's a livestream camera," she said in a resigned tone. "Normally, they're only supposed to shadow players on the battlefield. I guess this one's in here because there aren't that many of us left out there."

I frowned. "Then, do you think Death Gun's partner might have overheard us planning?"

"Not a chance," she said with a hint of a laugh in her voice. "For it to pick us up, we'd have to be shouting at the top of our lungs. Wave to the audience - unless," she added slyly, "you got someone back at home you don't want seeing this."

I groaned and palmed my face. "I do, but not for the reasons you're probably thinking. Ugh, this is gonna suck..." I don't even want to _think_ about the reaction the girls are having to my appearance. And, also, the position Sinon and I are in. That too. "And shouldn't you be worried about who's watching? Since I look like a girl, they might, ah, think... y'know."

She stiffened. "I don't care," she said in a huff. A cute blush dusted her cheeks. "They can think what they want. Guys in this game are dorks. If they think I'm gay, maybe they'll stop hitting on me every five seconds."

"Oh, do I have to kill some people?" I asked innocently. "I mean, I'm somewhat possessive."

"Mm… Don't think you have to worry about that," Sinon said. "You _understand_. I'm not letting you get away."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "And how much longer am I going to have to keep pretending to be a girl anyway?"

She smiled. "You've been faking it like a champ since the moment you got here. A little bit longer can't hurt, you big baby."

"Your words, they wound me."

"Good."

I grinned down at her, and she returned it. "You're just jealous I look fabulous," I snarked. "And that I pull off this look so well."

"That _must_ be it," she said. "Please, instruct me in the ways of being feminine, teacher."

I had no real answer to that, so I just shifted awkwardly. I tried to ignore her victorious smirk, and failed pretty miserably.

After a second, the camera vanished and we both relaxed. Thank gods.

I glanced over at Kirito, suspicious when I heard a muffled snort, but he was carefully not looking at either of us. I get the feeling he was finding this far too entertaining...

* * *

I scrambled up the steps two at a time, feeling my body burn with the effort. Gods damn it, I had to be in time. Please, let me be in time. I was _not_ going to let my word be broken, not to Shino. Not after all she'd been through.

I reached the apartment number she'd given me and Kazuto right before she set off a gift grenade and ended BoB with a three-way tie and hesitated. I couldn't _hear_ anything, but… Kazuto hit the landing right behind me and tried the door knob. "It's unlocked," he said.

That's not good… Shino would have immediately locked the door when she woke up, unless that doctor kid showed up and she hadn't realized he was one of Death Gun's partners… "Should we go in?" I asked him.

A loud scream echoed from inside the apartment, and I swore. "Answers that question!"

Kazuto turned the door handle and pushed and I kicked at the door. It slammed open and I didn't hesitate to rush in. I'd had one of my eyes closed while we were outside, so I switched the eyes and took in the scene.

Shino was struggling on the floor, some kid her age on top of her.

Fuck _that_ shit.

It took me all of three rapid heartbeats to lunge inside and violently introduce myself to Shino's attacker, knee-first to his face. As he recoiled backwards, wailing in pain, I grinned down at Shino's shocked eyes. "Hey," I said with a lazy grin, ignoring the throbbing pain starting to burn in my left knee. "Am I late for the party?"

She grinned back. "You're right on time, Rythin."

"Oh, good." I cracked my knuckles. "Excuse me for a bit. Kazuto, make sure she's okay, yeah?"

"You got it."

I grinned and braced myself as Death Gun Lite – all the psychosis, only one Calorie – rushed me. "Bastard… It's all your fault!" he screamed. Wow, this kid _definitely_ needs therapy. "She's mine! Mine! Damn it, stay away from her!"

"Rythin, he has a syringe!"

I exhaled sharply as Death Gun Lite's hand dipped towards his pocket. Oh, no you don't. I'm not getting injected, thank you very much. He was fast, but I was faster, since he had to retrieve something from his pocket and all I had to do was have my fist meet his face at high speeds. Something cracked, and I shook my hand from the pain sparking through my knuckles and fingers as he toppled to the ground.

I moved over to ensure that he would stay down, but the bastard had just been faking the fall and making it look worse than it was. With a snarl he lunged at me, syringe in his right hand, and knocked me down. I managed to catch his arms and keep him from poisoning me, but my back was against Shino's bed and my body was at an awkward position. Slowly, the syringe descended, and I redoubled my efforts to keep him off me, but I had no leverage.

Well, uh, fuck.

Suddenly he jerked to the side and slumped over, out cold, and I looked up to see Shino standing over him, holding a stereo. Well damn, alright then. "Thanks," I said, grabbing the syringe that had fallen from his limp hands and tucking it in my pocket, away from anywhere that could accidentally activate it. "You saved me, Sinon."

She panted a few times, then dropped the stereo as her knees gave out and she sank to the floor. "Don't _scare_ me like that," she gasped, grabbing my shirt in both hands. "I thought you were…"

I reached out and gently brushed her hand with my fingers. "I'm not going anywhere, promise," I said. "I have to protect you for the rest of our lives, right?"

She smiled weakly. "Yeah… That's right."

Well, as much as I'd like to stay right here and not have to move, we have things to do. I could hear the wail of approaching police sirens, and I had to check on What's-his-face to make sure Shino hadn't killed him, kick him in the stomach and ribs a few times for _daring_ touch Shino without permission, and then call Kana and let her know what was going on. She had to have seen the cave moment, since she'd made a thinly-veiled comment towards meeting my new girlfriend while we were at the hospital. This could get… interesting.

* * *

 **December 28th, 2025**

"Ry!" Argo called. "Where th' heck 're - oh, there ya are." She poked her head around the corner and sighed. "Again? Really? C'mon, you two. This's the third time since ya started datin', an' it's only been two weeks."

I lifted my head from where Sinon and I were curled up in a tangle of limbs, bodies, and tails. "What? It's comfortable like this." Nap time was more fun when I could feel Sinon's warmth around me.

"I swear," my sister sighed, "you two make the rest 'f us Cait Sith look bad just by association."

I rolled my eyes back and carefully disentangled myself, trying not to wake Sinon from her nap. She'd actually fallen asleep, if her steady breathing was any indication, and I didn't want to disturb her. She had enough nightmares as it was, so if I could grant her a few peaceful hours here I would. "What did you need?" I asked, stretching and popping my back.

"The others are gonna be loggin' in soon fer th' Excalibur raid," Argo reported. "Jus' wanted ta let ya know so we could be on time fer once."

"We're not _that_ bad."

Argo raised an eyebrow at me.

"Okay, so maybe we are," I conceded. "But hey, it's not _entirely_ my fault, for once."

She snorted. "Tha' would be true, if ya hadn't convinced Sinonon not ta change races."

I raised my chin. "Cait Sith is best she," I sniffed. "Now get going, we'll catch up."

"I'll be waitin' outside for ya two lovebirds," Argo said with a jaunty wave before turning on her heel. "Don' make me wait too long, 'kay?"

"Yeah, whatever," I said under my breath as I knelt down to wake up my girlfriend. "Says the girl who routinely makes me wait ten minutes so I can give her a ride to school..."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!"

I prodded Sinon a few times, played with her ears a little bit, and then when nothing else worked I had to take the nuclear option and gently tug on her tail. "Ahnnnn…" Sinon moaned in her sleep, eyes blinking blearily before she bolted upright. "Ack! Rythin!" she protested, but her eyes were bright and cheery. "Jerk."

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," I said easily. "It's time for us to go."

"Gotcha." With the accuracy I'd come to expect from her, Sinon leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on my cheek before standing up. "Don't wanna keep them waiting, then, right?"

"Right."

* * *

 **And the other half of Sinon's route. Nothing much different from canon, though in this case Rythin just completely accepts that she has blood on her hands. After all, he doesn't care all that much in the grand scheme of things – and that unconditional acceptance is the catalyst for Sinon developing actual feelings for him, instead of just admiration and rivalry. The rest of the cave scene is just kinda skimmed, and the rest of Death Gun's fight is the same as Nightblade canon. As for the rest of it, it's not all that important, but Nick is the first one into Shino's apartment and he beats the ever-loving shit out of Shinkawa.**

 **The little bit at the end there, where the two are an 'official' (scare quotes because remember, Shino's three years younger than Nick so they're waiting until the age gap matters less. And yes, Nick felt weird about staring at Sinon's… outfit when he learned this) item, is there mainly to confirm the pairing and so I could use the 'Cait Sith is best she' line. I've been sitting on that one for a while and haven't found a chance to use it yet and damn it I'm going to use that line.**

 **Anyway, that's it for the individual routes (and probably Nightblade Gaiden as a whole unless I figure out how to handle game Routes for Philia and a few others. I started work on Route: Harem, but decided that it was too self-indulgent even for this incredibly self-indulgent story). Thanks for reading, all four of you who actually read this shitty thing.**

* * *

 **The reaction of the girls to Rythin's appearance (and how Sinon is all but on his lap):**

Leafa: I could have sworn he was dating Argo. I'm happy that other girl seems to like him, though. When will I find someone I can fall for?

Asuna: I guess he's kinda cute looking like that. That girl is sitting really close to him, though, is she his girlfriend? And how didn't I know about this before now?

Argo: Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh gods I can't breathe I'm laughing too hard! This explains everything, Ry was just secretly a lesbian all along!

Silica: Pina, my big brother looks more like a big sister. This is weird.

Lisbeth: Holy crap, he really pulls off that look. Wonder what he'd look like in a skirt in real life…

 **Because Leafa will always be jealous of her big brother even if that big brother isn't related to her, Asuna is nice, Argo is… Argo, Silica is confused, and Liz will always want to see Nick in a skirt no matter what universe we're in.**


End file.
